Hurricane
by WhitRiddle22
Summary: Since Hogwarts, both Draco and Hermione have taken jobs at the Ministry. When their departments clash over a piece of protected land, Hermione is forced to work with Draco to find a suitable solution for both parties. Will Hermione see how much Draco has changed? Or will old prejudices determine their fate forevermore?
1. Crash, Crash, Burn

Draco sat in his chair, lazily playing with the pen on his desk. He sat it on its end, letting it drill into the wood. He was bored. Working at the Ministry had its perks, but with few things going wrong in the wizarding world, and with the economy, he had very little to do. He was the Head of his department, in charge of appraising and allowing businesses and secret locations to be 'wizardized,' or made into wizarding establishments. He had the job of making sure that the businesses were kept secret from muggles, along with removing them from muggle maps entirely. It was a new department, only created after the war ended, when so many wizarding establishments had been exposed to the muggle world because they'd been deserted. The department had only sorted out getting the old establishments off of the muggle grid about two years ago, it was then that Draco had gotten his promotion as he'd been the one to do most of the work. He was proud for actually making something out of himself, not just retreating into hiding or going into the muggle world like some others had done since they were shunned by some in the wizard world.

It'd been eight years since he'd walked out of Hogwarts. Eight long years. He rarely saw anyone from school, with the exception of passing Harry on the way to his office in the mornings. They would nod courteously to each other, but never engaged in actual conversation. Blaise worked with him, but he was always in the field or meeting new clients. Draco missed his friends, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he never really had any.

The sudden motion of his door opening made him loose his concentration, his pen dropping flat to the desk. He took a deep breath, pursing his lips, "Damn woman! How many times have I told you to knock?" he yelled at his secretary.

"Sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but it was urgent. I just got her to leave. She said to give you this. It's about the forest area outside of town that Mr. Blaine just acquired a buyer for" his secretary said quickly, dropping the note on his desk and running out of his office. Draco watched her leave, then turned his attention to the note on his desk. He recognized the neat handwriting at once. It was Granger's. It read:

Malfoy, I would like to meet with you to talk about the most recent purchase from your department. As the Head of the Department of Security for Magical Creatures, it has come to my attention that this purchase violates Section 132-B of the Magical Lands Bill. Please get back to me with a time and date that you can meet to discuss this issue, this is very important! -Hermione Granger

'That's very professional' he thought to himself. He ran a hand through his hair, "Mallory!" he yelled to his secretary. She rushed in the room, "Yes, sir?"

"What did she say when she came? Was she angry?" he asked, holding the note up.

"Oh yes, very angry. She said something about needing to see you, of course she called you a few names, I'd rather not say" she started explaining.

Draco smirked, "No, please, do tell" he said.

"Well, she asked to speak with the fucking arrogant coward. When I told her you were busy, she slammed her fist in my desk, telling me that she knew that that foul-smelling, loathing, twat was not busy and she demanded to see you immediately. I told her no, and to leave. She tried to go to your door, I blocked, and told her to leave you a note, because you were busy. She finally gave up, writing the note and leaving it" Mallory explained.

"And she didn't say anything else?" Draco asked, still smirking.

"No, sir" she said. Draco scribbled something on a piece of parchment. Folding it, he handed it to her, "Can you take this to Miss Granger in the…." he paused, looking back down at her note for the department name, "Department of Security for Magical Creatures" he said, handing her the note.

Mallory looked at him curiously, "I didn't know we had such a department" she said quietly.

"Neither did I, probably Granger's idea. I assume it's on the fourth floor" he said as she took the note from his hand and walked out of his office. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He chuckled to himself, remembering what Mallory said Grainger'd called him. 'Good to see nothing's changed' he thought to himself.

Mallory walked to the lift, taking the elevator up to the fourth floor. She walked down the hall cautiously until she found a small corner office at the end of the hall with the letters 'D.S.M.C" on the door along with the words, "Headquarters for S.P.E.W." underneath it. Mallory looked at the door, confused, then knocked. The girl opened the door a moment later, furious, "What?" she yelled at her.

Mallory stepped back, "Um…Mr. Malfoy said for me to bring you this" she told her, extending the note out. Hermione flared her nostrils, snatching the note from her, "Well, I see he wasn't too busy, was he?" she asked Mallory. Mallory just stood there. Hermione's face became more furious as she read his note:

Miss Granger, I am delighted to hear that you would like to go out to lunch with me, however you should know by now, I don't date Mudbloods. As to this so-called violation, I haven't a clue what you are on about. I think you must have hit your head a few too many times on your many journeys with Potter. If you can find this violation in print, and I mean original print, bring it to me. I'd love to see it. Oh, and by the way, I would have thought by now your insults would have improved. Guess not - Draco Malfoy

Hermione balled the paper up in her fist, fuming. She turned around quickly to her desk, throwing some of the random papers on the floor until she found the book she was looking for. Opening it, she flipped through the pages quickly, looking for the violation she'd told him about. Upon finding it, she stormed out of her office, almost knocking Mallory down in the process. Mallory ran to catch up with her. Hermione took the lift down, almost breaking the gate open when it reached his floor.

"Um…Miss Granger! I can't let you-" Mallory yelled after her.

"Shut it, bitch!" Hermione said, holding her hand up and continuing to walk quickly. She didn't stop when she reached his office, opening the door like a bullet. Malfoy had heard her coming, propping his feet on the desk, opening the Daily Prophet lazily. She stormed into the room, "You evil little coward! How dare yo-" she started to say, then noticed his laid back demeanor. His blonde hair fell over his eyes as he read the words on the paper, going back and forth effortlessly. His perfect jaw structure, relaxed, unlike the many times she'd seen it before. She never would admit how sexually attracted she'd been to him her last years at Hogwarts, he'd grown into such a beast. Without looking up from the paper, he said, "Hello Granger, I thought you might pay me a visit"

She broke out of her stare, fuming with anger, "Malfoy. You will look at this. It clearly states that your purchasing and clearing of the forest land outside of town is a clear violation of Section 132-B of-" she started saying again. He put his paper down on the desk, looking at her through his crystal blue eyes. She blinked a few times, trying not to loose herself in them as he put his feet on the floor and looked at her. He pursed his lips, "I know what that stupid thing says, woman" he spat at her.

"So why the fuck did you make me drag this damn book down here? And why are you going through with the purchase? It's illegal!" she yelled at him.

"Only you would pay attention to petty things like that, Granger. You can take this downstairs if you want, you're only going to be disappointed in the outcome" he said, standing.

"What? It's illegal! How would it pass? It's right here! On paper!" she said pointing to the words in the book as she sat it on his desk.

"Regardless of what you make believe, Granger, things in the Wiznegmot haven't changed. It's politics, whomever is the largest contributor gets what he wants. Greenpeace isn't exactly the largest contributor if you haven't noticed" he said smugly.

"You smug piece of shit. You would pay them off, just to make sure that I didn't win?" she asked, sizing him up.

"You catch on quick. Always the smart one" he said.

"Gods, you haven't changed a bit! Still the smug, arrogant, cowardly ass you always were! Tell me, Malfoy, how is your father now-a-days? Enjoying his time in Azkaban? And your poor mother…crying herself to sleep every night?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Shut up, filthy mud blood" he said through his clenched teeth, stepping towards her.

"Calling me a mud blood doesn't exactly hurt anymore. You kind of get used to it once someone calls you one for seven years" she said, rolling her eyes.

Draco huffed, rubbing his neck, "Well, what do you want?" he asked quietly.

"I want you to tell Blaise that the deal on this piece of land is off. That it's a violation, illegal, you can't use it. Do you know how many creatures could loose their homes if you cleared that land? Are you going to relocate them? No you aren't, because you're a heartless shit, a worthless excuse for a human being" she yelled at him.

He strode across the room, body centimeters from hers,. He could feel her tense as he stood so close to her, heat radiating off of her body. "I am not….worthless" he whispered angrily, face inches from hers. She swallowed, looking at his angry, intense blue eyes, the smell of him whirling around her. She could barely breathe being this close to him. Her loathing turned to angst as he stared into her eyes. He breathed in the scent of her hair as he stood tall over her, strawberries, just as it'd always been. He'd never admit how much of a thing he'd had for her, she would always be the one that he never had, and the one he wanted more than anyone. Quickly he turned, walking away from her, running a hand through his hair. His body had improved, long, lean, and toned. It was filled out more, he was a man now, not a boy. His hair slightly longer, falling in his face at all times. She stood, frozen, to that spot.

"I can't promise that without something in return" he said, turning back towards her.

She looked him up and down, a disgusted look on her face, "What do you want?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

He thought about it a minute, "You find me somewhere else that I can purchase, somewhere just as remote, and as large as that piece of land you're defending" he said straightening up.

"Fine" she said, picking up her book and closing it.

"Oh, and Granger, I need it by Monday" he said, smirking.

"What? That's less than a week!" she screeched.

"Yes. I know. I'm supposed to have that land and present it to the buyer by Monday, so you have until then to find me a new place so that I can present it to him" he concluded, leaning back on his desk, crossing his arms smugly.

"You've got to be bloody joking, Malfoy! How do you expect me to do that in less than a week? I have duties you know!" she yelled at him.

"Fine, I'll just continue with my deal then. I'll tell Blaise to push it up, shall I?" he asked, cornering her into taking the deal.

"No! I'll do it!" she said quickly.

"Good" he replied smugly, smirking at her. She pursed her lips, sighing, then stormed out of his office. She couldn't believe what she'd just agreed to, how was she even to go about finding something like this? She walked slowly to her office, slumping in her chair when she finally reached it. Sitting in her chair, she spun around, hoping it would make her dizzy enough to put her to sleep or wake her up from this bad dream. As she closed her eyes, all she could think about was him, those blue eyes piercing hers, how the vein on his neck stuck out when he was irritated, his hair falling softly on his forehead. She was so lost in her thoughts that when her door opened, she fell out of her chair. The person at the door smirked. She looked around the desk to see who it was. It was Draco.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she asked, a little fainter and higher pitched than she'd intended.

"I was merely coming to extend a dinner invitation to you" he said, leaning on her doorframe.

His words caught her off-guard, she froze as she started to stand, staring at him, "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Dinner, tonight, to discuss places of interest, strictly business" he explained.

She stood slowly, looking at his sincere face, "No thanks, I'll take my chances" she said, glaring at him.

He smirked, "Whatever you say, Granger, your loss. You know you haven't the faintest at what you're doing" he said, turning to walk away from the door.

"Again, Malfoy, I'll take my chances" she said, straightening up a few papers on her desk.

Draco took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, "Have it your way then" he said quietly, walking back down the hallway and stepping into the lift. He didn't know why he'd asked her to dinner, partly because he knew she wouldn't be able to do this on her own and also because he thought it may be his last chance at her. As he reached his floor, Mallory came running at the lift, he looked at her questionably, "Going somewhere, Mallory?" he asked her.

"Yes, sir. Home. It's past seven" she said as the lift closed, leaving Draco standing there in the hall by himself. He walked back to his office, gathering his things, shoving them in his briefcase. He, again, walked down the hall, into the lift, and to the main floor. As he stepped off, he saw Harry stepping off of the lift across from him. Draco nodded towards him, Harry doing the same. He continued walking to the floo system where he took one of the green fires, apparated, and ended up in his London flat just outside of King's Cross station. Throwing his bag on the counter, he fell into the couch, immediately falling asleep.

Wednesday

Draco woke few times during the night, never making it all the way to his bedroom. He had no reason to be tired, but even so, he'd acquired the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at any moment of the day. He guessed it was from his years at Hogwarts, never sleeping, it was just catching up to him. When he awoke the next morning, he went through his normal routine of showering, eating a bowl of cereal, getting dressed in his all black suit, and heading out the door. He walked a small ways from his apartment that morning before apparating to the loo where he was to flush himself down to the ministry. He was disgusted by the way they had to flush themselves in, but he did it anyway. Shaking off the feeling of being flushed down a toilet, he walked out of the green flames, grabbing a copy of the Daily Prophet before heading to the lift. It was unusually packed that morning, memos looming above his head. He swatted one that was very close to his arm before stepping out of the lift and into the hallway. Mallory met him with a stack of notes.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have an 8:30 meeting with Blaise on the forestry land, then an 10:30am meeting with Mr. Weasley, he needs to renew and upgrade his building permit, sir. He is also wanting to talk about buying land in Hogsmeade, he seems to think there's a shop open now" she told him.

"Right, anything else?" he asked her, taking the notes.

"Well, you have a 3pm meeting with the buyer for the forestry land" she said as they reached the door to his office.

"Cancel it" he said before opening his door.

"Sorry, sir?" she asked, confused.

"I said cancel it. Or rather reschedule for Monday, make up some excuse about me being out of town or something. And Mallory, get me a coffee, black" he told her, turning the handle on his door, opening it widely.

"A coffee, sir?" she asked.

"Yeah, I thought you were half-blood, Mallory. You know, a coffee, like an espresso? Just run down to the café on the corner and ask for a venti coffee with a double-shot of espresso" he told her before closing the door behind him.

He slumped down in his desk, running a hand through his still damp blonde hair. The door swung open, revealing Blaise. He strode in smugly, in his sleek black suit, his arrogance rivaling that of Draco's. Draco looked up as Blaise walked towards his desk.

"Blaise, how are you, mate?" Draco asked, smiling at his old friend.

"Doing just great, just great" he said as he sat gracefully in the dark green leather armchair across from Draco's desk.

"And the family? Draco asked.

"It's amazing, mate, it really is. I never thought I would like being a family man, but I do. Damien turns three next Wednesday., and Pansy just found out we're expecting another" Blaise told him.

"Oh, congratulations, mate! I'm happy for you!" Draco said standing, going around to give him a hug. Blaise happily accepted. "Thanks! We're really excited" he told him.

"That's great, mate! I can't believe it! Wow" Draco said, taking his seat again, "So I guess you'll be needing as many deals as possible then, won't you?" he asked, laughing.

"You're damn right about that one!" Blaise said laughing as well.

"Right, about this latest one, we've hit a snag" Draco told him.

"What? What kind of snag?" he asked.

"Something to do with it being protected land or some shit like that, I don't know. I'm taking care of it" Draco said, waving it off.

"What about the buyer? He's serious! What are you going to tell him? He's willing to pay double for a piece of land this secluded and of this size!" Blaise said, a little louder.

"I know, I know. I'm taking care of it, I told you" Draco said, trying to calm him.

"You better take care of it, Draco" Blaise said standing

"Have I ever let you down?" Draco asked. Blaise looked at him, raising his eyebrows, "Nevermind, don't answer that question. I'm taking care of it. You just worry about keeping Pansy's knickers out of a twist. I remember how she was the last time she was pregnant" Draco said, leading him out of the office.

"Right, right. Let me know if anything changes" Blaise said.

"Will do" Draco said as Blaise walked out of the door, closing it behind him. Draco took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling, hands on his hips. "Mallory!" he yelled.

"Yes!" she said running through the door, nearly spilling the large coffee on him. Draco stepped back to avoid the splashing drink.

"Watch where you're going! Damn woman! You think this suit costs as little as a knut? No!" he yelled at her, snatching the coffee from her hand.

"Sorry, sir" she said quietly, "Did you need anything?" she asked.

"Yes, my coffee, thank you. You can go, now" he told her. She left, closing the door behind her. Draco sat the coffee on his desk, unbuttoned his jacket, hanging it on the back of his door. He undid the buttons on his shirt sleeves, rolling up the cuffs to his elbows. He sat behind his desk, bored, it was going to be a long day.

Hermione went to the ministry that morning, late. She'd stopped by the local café to get a coffee and was nearly run into the pavement by Malfoy's secretary who had no clue what she was doing. The girl looked at Hermione apologetically as she ran up to the counter, getting in line. Hermione shook it off, walking calmly to her place in line, which was right behind her. When the barista asked Mallory what she wanted, she froze, "Umm…a venta coff…eee…something about espresso…" Mallory looked to Hermione for help. She rolled her eyes, half understanding what Mallory was trying to tell the barista and took it upon her to help the poor girl. "She wants a venti coffee with espresso" Hermione told the barista. The barista turned to Mallory, asking, "Single or double."

"Double" Mallory replied. She turned to Hermione, "Thank you" she said quietly.

"You're welcome. First time ordering coffee?" she asked her.

"Yes. I have no idea what it is. Mr. Malfoy asked me to get it" Mallory told her.

"Malfoy, drinking coffee? I should have told them to spit in it. Tell him to get his own damn coffee next time" Hermione told her as the barista asked what she wanted to drink. "I'll have a venti cappuccino, double espresso," she told her.

"You drink this stuff everyday?" Mallory asked.

"I do, except usually I'm here about an hour before the rush" Hermione said.

"Right" Mallory said quietly. The barista handed her her coffee, "I'll see you later, then?" she asked.

"I hope not, but maybe" Hermione told her, dreading the day in front of her. As she took the lift to her office, she thought about how she was going to even begin to find land to be bought for wizard businesses. Her office was a wreck, she had papers strewn all over the place, none were in order, it was far from the organized life she'd had at Hogwarts. Her office had never looked this bad, in the six years she'd been in it. She'd been so frazzled by this land purchase the past week though, she just couldn't bring herself to concentrate on cleaning it. Her life was frazzled, her and Ron had broken up over three months ago, she hadn't seen him since. She sat her bag on her desk, sipping her coffee. Breathing deeply she looked at the ceiling, wishing the week would be over soon.

"Whoa, did a tornado come through here?" someone said at her door.

She turned quickly, finding Harry standing there. "Oh Harry! I know, it's a mess!" she said, exhaustedly.

"Damn right it's a mess. What's with you, are you ok? I've never seen your office in so much of a mess" he said, stepping into the room.

"I know, I know! I'm just under so much pressure! My mind is completely frazzled! I can't get anything done!" she told him.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"No, thanks Harry. So what are you doing up here?" she asked him.

"Nothing, on my way down to the office, thought I'd stop and say hello. I heard you got in a spat with Malfoy yesterday, wanted to make sure you were ok" he said.

"Oh, right. I'm fine, it's just business, otherwise I wouldn't be anywhere near him" she said taking some papers out of her bag.

"I know, Kingsley said he heard shouting when he was taking the lift up, wanted me to make sure you were ok, and that Malfoy wasn't causing any trouble" Harry explained.

"No more than usual. Don't worry, Harry, it's nothing I can't handle. And we've worked out a deal so hopefully there won't be anymore shouting matches. Tell the minister I'm sorry about the commotion. It won't happen again" she said apologetically.

"Right, right. Well, if you need anything, I'm here, Hermione" he said.

"I know, Harry. Thanks" she said as he turned to walk out the door. Hermione sighed, sipping her coffee again. She walked around to her chair, sat, then took out the map of London she'd brought from her apartment to scour for empty lots. She poured over the map for the next three hours, until finally becoming so frustrated that she almost threw it across the room. She fought with herself over and over about going to ask for help from Malfoy. She didn't want to concede, she didn't want to ask for help, hurting her pride, but she finally realized that unless she did ask for help, there was no way she would succeed in finding this land in six days. She stood, walking out of her office, closing the door behind her, not looking up at anyone as she walked down the hall to the lift. When she reached the floor below hers, she walked quickly to the end, keeping her head down. It was then that she heard the sound of booming laughter, a laugh she recognized all too well.

"Malfoy, I didn't know you had a sense of humor!" George said, walking out of Draco's office.

"You'd be surprised, Weasley" Draco said, lightly laughing.

"Well, it's good to know you've lightened up a bit since Hogwarts. So you'll find out what you can on the old tea place in Hogsmeade?" George asked.

"I will" Draco said nodding.

George extended his hand to him, "Pleasure doing business with you then" he said.

Draco took his hand, shaking it firmly, "And you also" he said.

George turned to walk down the hallway, Hermione tried to make herself unnoticed by scooting up against the wall, he saw her.

"Hermione? I was just about to go down and see you. What are you doing up here?" George asked.

"I have a meeting with Malfoy" she said shortly.

"Oh, right. Well, I'll catch you later then" George said, walking down the hall.

Draco looked at Hermione, confused, "Need something, Granger?" he asked, shaking the hair out of his eyes, his hands in his pockets.

She glared at him, walking past him and into his office. Draco looked at Mallory, raising his eyebrows before shutting the door behind him. She was pacing when he turned around to face her.

"What is it, Granger? Task too hard for you already?" he said smirking.

"I have no idea what I'm doing!" she said, frustrated.

"I knew you wouldn't. It's why I asked if you wanted help yesterday" he told her, walking closely around her, then leaning back on his desk.

"Well…yesterday I thought I could handle it!" she said as she stopped pacing, turning towards him. She looked him up and down, his stomach crunched as he leaned against the desk, his shoulders pushed forward, the vein in his forearm pulsing. She swallowed, shaking thoughts out of her head.

"And today?"

"And today…well, I've been looking at a damn map for hours, I don't know what I'm looking at!" she said throwing her hands in the air.

Draco grabbed her wrists, pulling them down from the air, "Stop throwing your arms around, you're going to hit something" he said.

She felt her arms light on fire as he touched them, they were smooth, his fingers long, wrapping around her forearms so delicately, yet strong. "And what if I do break something? What are you going to do? Hurt me?" she said sarcastically.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you, Granger. I'm not 17, and I'm also not going to hit a woman" he said, his face lightly showing an expression of hurt.

"Right" she said looking down, embarrassed, "so are you going to help me or not?" she practically begged. He let go of her arms, folding his own across his chest. "And what if I refuse?" he said raising an eyebrow.

"If you refuse then you won't have any land to sell your buyer on Monday" she said.

"And if you don't do it, your precious creatures won't have a home come Monday" he told her. She pursed her lips, "I'm doing what you want me to do, Malfoy, I just don't know what I'm doing" she said.

"Well, considering that the job needs to be done right, I suppose…I'll help you" he said. He straightened up, standing, then grabbed his jacket from the back of the door. He brushed past her as he turned the doorknob. Looking at Mallory, "You canceled my appointment for this afternoon?" he asked her.

"I did, sir" she said.

"Good. I'm going out the rest of the day. If anyone needs me, leave a note" he said as he put on his jacket.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked."You mean where are we going" he said with a smirk.

"We? I'm not going anywhere with you" she said, crossing her arms.

"If you want to learn how to do this you are. Come on. You can't search for empty lots in an office" he told her. She sighed heavily before following him out of the office.

"I need to stop by my office. Get my things" she told him as they entered the lift. "Ok" he said.

They went up, going to her office to retrieve her bag. She opened the door, not really wanting him to see her messy office.

"Well, well, well, Granger. Not very tidy, are we?" he asked, leaning against her doorframe.

"Oh shut up. It was like this yesterday when you came by" she said, grabbing some of the papers and shoving them in her bag. He watched her scurry around the room, her figure clumsily straightening up various things, her hair flowing behind her.

"No, it wasn't nearly this bad. This is terrible. When's the last time you cleaned?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Three months ago" she said quietly, taking a pause in her packing.

He looked at her sad face, "You ok?" he asked, walking closer to her.

"I'm fine. Just damn peachy. Can we go now?" she said blinking fast, turning around quickly. She didn't realize how close he'd come to her. She could smell cologne as she took another deep breath, looking up at him. Tension and heat growing between them. "Sure, let's go" he said, staring at her. As he turned to leave, Hermione stood rooted to the spot. Draco turned around when he didn't hear her close the door, "Granger, you coming?" he asked again. She snapped out of her daze, walking out of the room and closing the door. They walked beside each other to the lift, getting several glances in the hall. As the lift went up and opened on the ground floor, more people stared at them as they walked by. Draco held his head high, ignoring everyone around him as he usually did. Hermione looking at the floor, trying to not be noticed. She was failing.

"Don't look so embarrassed, Granger. I'm not that awful looking" he said quietly to her as they walked by the large fountain. She glared at him, "It's not about how good looking you are Malfoy, everyone knows how much we loathe each other" she told him.

"People can change" he said.

She snorted, "Yes, normal people, not you, Malfoy, you're incapable of change" she said.

"Right, I keep forgetting how high your opinion is of me" he said softly, running a hand through his hair as they reached the last fireplace. "Prove me wrong then" she challenged him, standing with her arms folded across her chest in front of the fire.

"I don't have to prove anything. You'll realize it one day" he added, barely audible. Looking up in her face, he held out his hand, stepping closer to the fire. Cautiously, she reached out for it.

"Hang on, Granger" he said with a wink as she grasped his hand. He apparated as soon as they stepped into the fireplace. Feeling a jolt in her stomach, she gasped as they appeared on a busy London street. Draco started walking as soon as they appeared, not letting go of her hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked. He stopped in front of a small, bustling café on the corner, opening the door for her, "Lunch" he replied with a smile.

She huffed, rolling her eyes, but walking into the café anyway. She walked up to the counter, looking at the menu. The woman behind the bar asked her what she wanted, Hermione ordered, then took out her muggle money to pay.

"Put up your money, Granger, lunch's on me" Draco said quickly as he told her to add it to his order, giving the girl muggle money before Hermione could even get her wallet open. She looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head. Draco ordered his food, then turned towards her, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the glass case holding cakes.

"What? It's just lunch" he told her.

She searched his icy blue eyes, absolutely fuming with herself. Then huffed again, turning her back on him. "Oh come on, Granger, you can't be seriously mad about this" he said as they were handed their food.

She walked to a table in the front of the café, "No, I just can't believe you conned me into this" she told him as she sat down.

"I didn't con you into anything. You came willingly" he said smirking.

She unscrewed the top off of her bottled water, "No, you told me we were going to look for places of interest" she said.

"Right, and we are. I was just hungry" he told her as he took a bite of his sandwich, his hair falling lazily over his eyes. She pursed her lips, shaking her head. She took a bite of her sandwich, not believing where she was and who she was with.

"You know, you should lighten up. Breathe a little. I'm not going to curse you" he told her.

"Sorry, old habits die hard" she said glaring at him.

"Right. Speaking of old habits, how's Weasley?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich and smirking at her.

"I wouldn't know" she said simply.

"Oh really?" he said, intrigued.

"Really" she told him, pursing her lips.

"That's interesting" he said, leaning back in his chair.

"What? What's so interesting about it?" she asked.

"You're not with Weasley anymore, you're all bent out of shape all the time, your office hasn't been tidied in forever, and you're a complete mess. I'd say you're in trouble, Granger" he concluded.

"Trouble? I'm perfectly fine. And who are you to tell me how I am?" she said glaring at him.

"You're in denial" he told her.

"I have nothing to be in denial about" she said, finishing up her sandwich.

"Sure you do" he said as they stood up to throw their trash away. Draco picked her trash up before she could, taking it to the bin for her. She blinked a few times, then followed him out of the café door.

"Like what? What am I in denial about?" she asked, walking fast to catch up with him.

"The fact that your and Weasley's break up is why everything around you is falling apart" he said, putting his hands in his pockets as they walked up the street.

"Everything around me is not falling apart, you arrogant prat!" she snapped at him.

"Whatever you say" he said, smirking, letting his hair fall in his face.

"What do you care, anyway?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

He thought about it a minute, "Well, I don't need you too distracted if you're going to do this deal. I need you focused" he lied. Glancing over at her, he saw her jaw clench, a look of sadness in her eyes.

"Always the demanding one" she said, shaking her head.

They turned the corner, walking down the street in silence. Hermione was becoming frustrated, she didn't know what she was looking for, or what they were doing.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" she asked.

"This" he said as they turned the corner again. They were standing in front of an abandoned brick warehouse, trees lined the front lawn, hiding the building from view. Draco walked closer to it, stepping on to the grass. He looked up into the trees as he wandered towards the building. There was little sunlight coming through the canopy, just enough to light up the ground. He turned back towards the sidewalk, looking at Hermione still standing there.

"Well, come on then. Or are you just going to stand there?" he asked her. She moved off of the sidewalk, walking towards him. He turned back towards the building, walking closer to it. As he reached the door, he opened it, it creaked slightly, dust falling from the top of the large door.

"Lumos" he whispered, taking out his wand. Hermione came in behind him, muttering the same charm.

"Well, it's definitely deserted" Draco said.

"Yes, I think so" Hermione told him, looking around at the blank, empty room.

Draco took out a small piece of parchment, jotting down the address of the building. Hermione looked at him curiously as he wrote on the piece of paper, "Did you know this was here?" she asked.

He looked up at her through his hair, "No, I didn't. Why?" he asked.

"Well, you came across it so easily, I thought maybe you knew it was here. Why did you need me if it's this easy to find a place, anyway?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"You're here for luck" he said with a wink. She shifted in her stance, uncomfortable in the low light as he walked towards her.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Granger?" he asked, walking slowly.

"No, not in the least" she said, avoiding eye contact.

"I think you're in denial about one more thing" he told her, looking down on her figure.

"You don't know a thing, Malfoy" she said, looking up at him finally.

Draco reached up, grazing her cheek with the back of his fingers. He smirked as she shuddered against his hand. Touching her chin lightly, he shook his head, "I know more than you think" he whispered, walking past her and out of the warehouse door. She stood there, again, rooted to the spot. He turned around, tired of having to call her like a dog, "Granger, are you coming?" he asked.

"Yes" she said turning, walking out. He closed the door behind her.

"You know, you keep staring off into space like that, you're going to get lost one of these days" he said as he turned to join her, walking back towards the sidewalk.

"Sometimes I wish I would" she said quietly. Draco sighed, looking at her solemn face. As much as he knew he was supposed to hate her, to loather her existence, he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't lie to himself anymore, like he'd done all those years ago.

"I need to be getting back to the ministry" Hermione said suddenly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well…I don't know. I need to do a few things before going home" she said. Draco sighed, grabbing her hand again, apparating back to the Ministry. As they walked through the fire, people stared at the two of them. When they reached the fountain, Hermione finally realized what everyone was gawking at, they were still holding hands. She dropped his hand as if it'd just lit on fire. He also realized then that he hadn't dropped her hand. Looking at he floor, he ran a hand through his hair, muttering "Sorry" to her as they got into the lift. Hermione quickly got off of the lift on her floor, walking fast down the hall to her office. She hadn't expected Draco to follow, so it didn't surprise her when he continued down to the floor below.

Hermione opened the door to her office, closing it quickly behind her. She glanced at the clock on the wall, nearly 5 o'clock! She threw her bag on the desk, not even wanting to unpack it. Only two hours left in her day, there was no need. As she sat down behind her desk, leaning back in it, planning on a quick nap, the door swung wide open. Harry stood there, a quart of half eaten Chinese food in one hand, chopsticks in his mouth, looking bewildered. He let go of the door handle, setting the chopsticks in his food before turning his attention to Hermione.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat.

"Hermione! Where've you been? And what's this is hear about you walking through the main floor holding hands with Malfoy?" he drilled her.

"Keep your voice down! Come in here, close the door behind you" she said to him, motioning for him to close the door. He obliged, taking the armchair in front of her desk.

"What's this all about?" he asked her again.

"I had to go with him to look for that new land purchase I was telling you about earlier" she explained lightly.

"What land purchase? You just said it was business, not what kind of business, what are you on about, Hermione?" he asked quickly.

"Harry, calm down. It is business. Look, one of the land purchases he made violates this bill that pertains to my office, so I challenged him on it, and the deal was that he'd give up that land if I found him a new piece of land. I didn't know what the bloody hell I was doing this morning, so I had to ask him for help. That's where I've been" she explained.

Harry sat the Chinese food on her desk, "Right, sorry, here, have the rest of this. You have to be hungry after a day of land shopping with Malfoy. I imagine he wouldn't dare buy you lunch" Harry said, exaggerating.

Hermione rubbed her neck, glancing up at Harry. His eyes went wide, "He bought you lunch? Hermione! What's going on?" Harry asked, standing.

"Oh, will you sit down! It's nothing like that. He said he was hungry, I tried to refuse him, but he'd already given the lady money" she told him.

"And what about you two holding hands when you came back not five minutes ago?" he asked.

"He held my hand to apparate back to the Ministry. When we got here, we both just forgot about it and continued walking. I noticed when I saw all the people staring at us" she said, embarrassed.

"How do you not notice when you're holding Malfoy's hand?" he asked slowly.

"I don't know, Harry! It just happened! It's no big deal! Atleast we weren't having a shouting match in the hall!" she said, frustrated.

Harry paced around the room for a minute or two, then sat back down in his chair, looking at her embarrassed face. "It's ok, you know. Maybe a little awkward, well a lot awkward, but it's ok, that is, if you like him. We're all adults now" Harry told her.

"I don't like him! I never will! How can you say that?" she asked, the pit of her stomach in a knot.

"I didn't know if you were trying to hide it or anything" he said.

"Harry, you know you'd be the first one I'd tell" she said smiling.

"Of course I do" he told her.

"Good" she said.

"So what are you doing tonight? Anything?" he asked.

"No, I never do anything any more…a bit boring, my life" she told him, smiling sadly.

"Ginny wanted to extend an invitation to dinner. Apparently George bought some new building today in Hogsmeade, he wants to celebrate and Ginny's going to cook" harry told her.

Hermione smiled, "Oh, I heard him talking to Malfoy about that in the hall. He sounded pretty excited over it!" she said.

"Yeah, yeah, she says he is. He told me he might stop by and see me this morning but I guess he got sidetracked" Harry said.

"Right. Is Ron going to be there?" she asked, her face turning from happy to solemn in an instant.

Harry sighed, "Yeah, yeah he is"

"Tell Ginny I'm sorry. I just don't know if I can see him right now. Especially this week. Having to work with Malfoy everyday is enough stress" she said, smiling weakly.

"Right, I'll tell her. She won't be happy about it though"

"Yes, I know. Wouldn't be surprised if she didn't apparate into my apartment when you tell her" Hermione said snickering.

"I would be too. Well, I should be going back downstairs. Don't want Dean taking over any of my work, you know" Harry said with a wink.

"Right, right. See you, Harry" she said as he stood.

"See you. If you change your mind about tonight, I'm sure Ginny will have cooked enough food" he said, opening the door.

"I'm sure she would have. Oh, Harry!" she yelled at him as he walked out the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, sticking his head back in.

"Do you think people can…change?" she asked, embarrassed.

He thought a minute, "Yeah, I do. He'd already started changing in our last year, otherwise I would have let him die in that damn fire with his friend" Harry told her.

"No, I mean, like really change" she asked again.

"Yes. Everyone is capable of changing, they just have to have the motivation to make the change" he said solemnly.

"Thanks, Harry" she said. He nodded, smiling slightly, then left her office, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.


	2. Let it All Burn

Thursday

The next day, Hermione woke up an hour late, she couldn't believe she was going to be late for work two days in a row. She didn't have time to stop by the coffee shop, so she went straight to the ministry, ignoring the glances she received as she walked to the lift and down her hall. She got to her door, opening it hurriedly, not even glancing around the room as she closed the door behind her.

"Gods, Granger, are you that much in a hurry to get me behind closed doors?" the person said sitting behind her desk. Hermione shrieked, jumping slightly as she turned, her heart skipping atleast two beats.

"Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing in my office? You almost gave me a heart attack!" she said to him, attempting to gain her composure.

"Oh, so you're not denying it then?" he asked, smirking, shaking the hair out of his eyes.

"Denying what?" she asked, sitting her bag on his desk, not looking at him directly.

"Oh never mind. So, lunch today?" Draco asked her, as if it were the most normal thing in the world for him to be asking her to lunch.

She paused as she'd started taking out a pen from her bed, looking at him, confused, "Um, what?" she asked.

"You didn't think you were getting away that easily, did you? We may have found that land yesterday, but you still have to find out if it's available you know" he told her smugly, leaning back in her chair.

"What…I….ugh! What does that have to do with lunch?" she asked, slamming her book on the desk.

He thought a minute, trying to make an excuse, "Well…I just thought…maybe you might want to talk strategy over lunch or something" he said, making it up as he went.

She looked at his sideways, "Fine. But only because once again I haven't the foggiest idea as to what I'm doing"

"I'll come by later and get you then" he said standing up from her desk chair, smiling slightly. He brushed by her as he walked around her desk, Hermione glanced up at him, then back down quickly, her face turning pink. She walked past him, standing behind her desk, watching him as he turned his back on her, opening the door and leaving her office.

She sighed heavily. She didn't know what the hell was going on in her head or his. It was crazy. They hadn't even talked much, but it was like he was attempting to be nice to her. And she was falling for it. She had to find out why.

Draco walked back to his office, giddy inside. Upon reaching his door, he noticed Mallory pacing in front of it. "alright there, Mallory?"

"I couldn't stop him sir! He just barged in! Demanding to see you! I told him you'd weren't in, to come back later but he didn't listen!" she said frantically.

"Mallory, calm down, who?" he said, trying to calm her.

"I don't know his name! He looks like the Weasley man you had a meeting with yesterday!" she said, clearly upset by the man not doing as she had asked him.

Draco dismissed her, opening his door quickly. As soon as the door was wide open, he saw a fist approaching his face. Using his quick reflexes, Draco put his hand up, blocking the punch, "Bloody hell, Weasley! What are you on about?" he asked him. Ron looked at him, furious, then walked to Draco's desk, pacing in front of it as Draco shut the door.

"What the hell have you been doing with Hermione? What are you trying to pull?" Ron asked angrily.

"I'm not trying to pull anything! Granger and I are working together. It's none of your damn business, anyway" Draco told him.

"None of my….none of my business? I'll be damned, it is my business!" Ron yelled, swinging at him again. Draco dodged it.

"Not the way I hear it. Now get the hell out of my office. Damn blithering idiot, it's no wonder she left you" he spat at Ron.

"Is that what she told you? You're a slimy git, Malfoy, she'll never want you" Ron told him.

"I told you, Weasley, it's business. And she doesn't want you either" Draco said.

"If you touch her, Malfoy…I'll-" Ron started to say.

"You'll what? What will you do Weaselby? You're nothing but a poor idiot, she deserves better" Draco whispered angrily.

"And I suppose you think you're better?" Ron said, not believing what he was hearing.

"Better than you, yes, but I never said I wanted her" Draco told him.

"Right, right, because you would never touch a muggle-born" Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Draco glared at him, "Get out of my office, Weasley, you're not worth my air" he told him.

"You stay away from her" Ron said as he headed towards the door.

"I'm not promising that, Weasley. We work together" Draco said angrily.

"You'll be sorry, Malfoy, one day" Ron said, grasping the door knob.

"Oh and I can't wait for that day" Draco said sarcastically. Ron opened the door, slamming it behind him as he walked out of Draco's office. Draco ran a hand through his hair, not believing that Ron Weasley was just in his office. Did people really think the two of them were going out? Just by them walking together yesterday? It was ridiculous! Draco sat down at his desk, sitting his head in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at the stack of papers in front of him. Pulling them in front of him, he started reading, determined to do some work before going to find Hermione and taking her to lunch.

After four long hours of looking up figures, using his muggle telephone to call about getting the owner of the abandoned warehouse, calling the owner, being put on hold at least a hundred times before actually reaching him, and then setting up a meeting for the following night, Friday. He leaned back in his chair as he got off of the phone with the owner, his mind frazzled. It was nearly 3pm, he supposed Hermione probably thought he'd forgotten. Standing, he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, putting it on as he opened his door.

"Going to lunch, Mallory" he told her, buttoning his suit jacket and walking down the hall to the lift. Once reaching her hall, he strode down it confidently, knocking on her door lightly. "Come in" she said from inside. He stuck his head inside the door, "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Oh, yes" she said, pushing all of the papers on her desk to the side and standing. She grabbed her black coat, matching her outfit that she'd worn that day. It was chilly outside, she'd worn grey plaid slacks, a thin white button-down blouse, the black suit jacket, and tall black heels. It was the only outfit that was clean. He smirked as he took in what she was wearing.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm beginning to believe your outfits are reflecting that dreary mood of yours" he told her, holding the door as she strode through it.

"At least I know there are different colors, you seem to think the only color there is is black" she told him.

"I can't help it looks good on me" he said smugly, putting his hands in his pockets as they walked into the lift.

She rolled her eyes, "So did you talk to the owner?" she asked him.

"I did. We have to meet him for dinner tomorrow night" he said.

"We?" she asked as the lift stopped on the main floor, looking up at him.

"Yes, we. The man is single, Granger, I'm going to need you to show a little leg" he told her, smirking as they walked through the level, past the fountain.

"What? You can't be serious! You're pimping me out now? What's next?" she exclaimed.

"What? No, Granger! The man just needs a little physical alluring" Draco said as they entered the fireplace, him taking her hand and apparating.

"Physical alluring? You've got to be joking!" she said as they reappeared on an empty London street. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We are down the street from my apartment. There's a great little Italian place on the corner that I want to take Mr. Douglas to tomorrow night. But I wanted to take you to the pub right here, has the best fish and chips in London" he told her, avoiding her other questions and opening the door of the pub for her.

"You didn't answer my question" she said as they sat at the bar.

"Ah, Granger. The man likes women, I think we can get more money out of him if you do your job" he said smirking.

"Do my job?" she asked, taken aback.

"Yeah, what'd you think I needed you on this for" he said now fully smiling, the bartender standing in front of them. She took their orders and walked off. Hermione turned to him, now able to express her shocked face from his statement.

"What? You made that deal with me because you knew you couldn't land this one without a woman? You're pathetic!" she told him, a disgusted look on her face.

"I knew I needed a woman to make the deal for me" he told her as the bartender brought them their drinks. She rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing. She hit his arm.

"Ow, woman!" he said, grabbing his arm.

"You should be glad we're in a public place, I'd do more than that to you" she told him

He raised his eyebrows, "Oh really? I'm finding out a lot about you today, Granger. You have a sense of humor and you're a freak" he joked.

She hit him again, "Shut it, you weasel!" she said, trying very hard to keep the smile off of her face. Draco looked at her restrained smile, smirking at her through the stray hair falling around his face.

"You know, speaking of weasels, I got a visit from Weasley earlier today" he said, taking a sip of his drink.

"You what?" she asked, almost dropping her drink.

"Weasley, he was in my office this morning when I got back from seeing you. You know anything about this?" he asked her.

She thought a minute, "Harry! I knew he was going to let it slip that we'd been working together! I'm sure he told Ginny!" she said under her breath.

"Now wait, it could have been any number of people. If it wasn't you, then I'm not worried about it. Let the rumors fly, they'll think what they want to even if we deny it" he told her.

"It could have been George, I guess. He did see me yesterday going to your office. Oh, this is terrible!" she said, throwing her hands in the air. He grabbed the one closest to him, "Again with the hands, you're going to knock someone's eye out" he said. She relaxed, muttering "Sorry" under her breath.

"So what did he want?" she asked him after a moment or two.

"Wanted to know what the bloody hell I was trying to pull and to keep my hands off of you" Draco said in his best Ron imitation.

Hermione snorted, "And you said what?"

"I told him it was none of his damn business, and if he must know, it was strictly professional" he said, thinking it was what she wanted to hear. Her heart sunk a little, she would deny it to anyone who asked though. She glanced at him, smiling slightly, then turned towards the bar as their food arrived. They ate in silence, both stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. Finally Hermione broke the silence when she was nearly done eating, "So this dinner tomorrow night…what am I supposed to wear?" she asked.

Draco thought a minute, "Well, like I said, the man loves women. Obviously something classy, and also sexy. Try to find the balance between the two" he said carefully.

"Right…so a classy whore?" she said sarcastically.

"You could never look like a whore, Granger. I think your body would reject the clothing" he told her smirking.

"You're probably right. I would feel so…disgusting" she said with a shiver. The bartender brought the check, Hermione opened her mouth to tell her to split it, but Draco shushed her.

"No, I've got it, Granger. I don't ask you out to lunch and then make you pay for your food. What kind of man do you think I am?" he said as he counted his muggle money, handing it to the bartender with a wink. Draco stood, waiting on Hermione to finish her drink. They walked out of the pub, Draco holding the door for her, and strode onto the sidewalk. Hermione glanced sideways at him as they walked.

"What?" he asked.

"You baffle me" she said.

"I…what?" he asked, confused.

"You. You're just…You're much different than what I remember" she said, shaking her head.

"Well, I was seventeen the last time we insulted each other. Eight years is a long time" he told her, hands in his pockets.

"I suppose" she said quietly.

He stopped walking, turning to face her, "You don't believe that I've truly changed at all do you?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"I still don't know" she told him, seeing the hurt look on his face.

"Right, well, we better be getting back" he said, emotionless, his jaw clenched. He looked directly into her eyes, intensely, grabbing her hand and apparating to the ministry. When they arrived, he made a point to drop her hand and walk quickly out of the fireplace ahead of her. "Wouldn't want anyone to see you with me, would you?" he muttered to her, picking up his pace and passing her. She paused slightly by the fountain, watching him walk to the lift by himself, his blonde hair falling in his eyes. As he got on the lift, he looked up at her through his hair, then back down at his feet as it jetted down. She blinked a few times, coming out of her daze. Walking slowly, she finally made it to the lift, then her hallway. She felt like she was walking down the longest hallway in the world, it seemed like it was ages before she reached her door. Sitting down at her desk, she threw her head in her hands, mentally hitting herself for the pain she'd just caused.


	3. Do you really want me

Friday

Draco woke the next morning in a sour mood. The day before had started out great, and ended terribly. He didn't know how else to show her that he'd changed. He walked into the ministry, grabbing a copy of the Daily Prophet as he normally did, heading to the lift, not looking at anyone else around him. He knew the dark circles under his eyes looked worse that morning, he hadn't had much sleep, and the stress of having her so close, so close to being his, was wearing him thin. As he stood, waiting for the lift he glanced around him, doing a double-take when he saw her. She'd scrunched her hair that morning. It was still damp, the golden streaks in it shimmering. The short purple sweater dress she had on hugged her curves perfectly, her legs accentuated by her tall black heels and shear black tights. She stood waiting for the lift beside his, glancing over at him when she felt his eyes on her. He caught her eyes for a brief moment before stepping onto the lift, taking it down to his floor.

Mallory looked at him questionably as he approached his office door, "Sir, are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine. If I have any meetings today, cancel them. And I'm leaving around 6:30, dinner meeting with a client. You can leave around 5 if you'd like, it is Friday after all" he told her as he opened the door to his office, closing it behind him and taking his suit jacket off. He slumped into the chair behind his desk, wishing the day would go quickly. Eventually, he fell asleep, having nothing to do that morning.

Draco awoke to a knock at the door. Startled, he fell out of his chair. The person at the door opened it, hearing the commotion inside.

"Malfoy?" Harry said opening the door.

Draco looked up, hearing Harry's voice. Slightly confused, he asked, "Potter?"

Harry opened the door a little wider, stepping into his office, "Yeah, you alright?" he asked, watching Draco get up slowly off of the floor.

"Fine. What are you doing here?" Draco asked him.

"I just came from seeing Hermione and-" Harry started to say.

"Look, nothings going on, if you're here to drill me like Weasley did yesterday, you may as well leave. It's just business" he told him sternly.

"No, actually it's nothing like that. She seemed upset. Didn't know if you knew anything about it" Harry told him.

"No. No I don't. I didn't do anything to hurt her" Draco said, emphasizing the 'I' part.

Harry thought a minute, "What did she do?" he asked.

Draco shook his head, "It's nothing. We have a dinner meeting tonight, did she say anything about it?" he asked.

"Mentioned it when I told her Ginny wanted her to come over for 'girl talk'" Harry told him, rolling his eyes.

Draco snorted, shaking his head, "Women" he said simply.

"Agreed. I'll leave you be" Harry said, heading towards the door.

"Right. See you, Potter" Draco said, leaning against his desk.

"See you. Oh and Malfoy?" Harry said.

"What?"

"Try not to hurt her" he told him. Draco looked up at him as he left the room, closing the door behind him. This had definitely been the oddest week of his life. He looked at the clock on his desk, 2pm! He'd been asleep for five hours! He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with himself. Deciding he should go make sure Hermione was still going tonight, he walked out of his office and to the lift. Once reaching her door, he knocked lightly. No answer. Knocking again, only a little harder. Still no answer. He laid his forehead, hard, on the door, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Oh come on, Hermione" he whispered to himself.

Hermione walked down her hallway, carrying five large books in her arms. She slowed down as she saw Draco leaning his forehead on the door. She walked closer to him, he didn't notice she was there. Hearing her first name come from his lips sent shivers down her spine, her weight shifted, dropping one of the books on the floor. He turned quickly, seeing her faltering face and toppling books. Reaching out, he caught two of the other books before they fell, steadying her. As he bent down with her, he looked in her eyes, intensely, picking up the book that had fallen on the floor and taking the other two from her arms. She didn't argue, still staring at his solemn face. She tucked a stray curl behind her ear, opening the door to her office and letting him in. He dropped the books on her desk, not looking up at her. She walked in behind him, stepping around the desk and standing in front of him.

"Oh come off it, Malfoy. You aren't still on about yesterday are you?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked.

"Yesterday, you're not still upset about it are you?" she asked.

"If I were upset about anything, I wouldn't have come here looking for you!" he said angrily, looking up at her, his hands resting on her desk.

"Well, what did you come here for?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"To ask if you were still going to dinner tonight" he told her, now pacing in front of her desk.

She thought about it a minute, "Of course I'm going. It's part of our deal!" she told him.

He stopped, turning to stare at her for a moment, "I'll pick you up downstairs around 7:30" he said quietly, running a hand through his hair and stepping towards the door.

"Actually I was going home early to get ready. I'll just meet you there. Still going to the place by your apartment?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I'll meet you there at 8" he told her, turning the doorknob.

"Right, see you" she said as he walked out of the door. She sat down in her chair, leaning back, not sure if she was ready for tonight or not.

The day passed by quickly, and finally it was time for Hermione to rush home and get ready for the dinner party. She walked quickly to the fireplace, apparating immediately to her flat. She got ready quickly, slipping into the long, red sleeveless dress that she'd selected to wear. The neck of it went in a low V, she thought it was revealing just enough to still be considered 'classy.' She pulled her hair to the front, left side, braiding the bottom of it. Her bangs fell in her face lightly. She put on her heels and grabbed her coat as she headed out the door, apparating on the sidewalk.

Draco stood outside of the door of the restaurant, waiting on Mr. Douglas to join him. Glancing down the street, he saw the stumpy man striding towards him.

"Mr. Douglas, pleasure sir" Draco said, extending a hand.

"Mr. Malfoy, good to finally put a face with the voice" he said, shaking Draco's hand.

"Agreed, sir, shall we go in? My colleague should be along shortly" Draco said, opening the door.

"Ah, yes. I must say I'm starving" Mr. Douglas said as he entered the door. The hostess sat them in a circle table near the back of the room. Draco kept glancing at the door for any sign of Hermione as they sat. The waitress came to the table, asking for their drink orders.

"Water for me, and another for the lady" Draco told her.

"Scotch for me, mam" Mr. Douglas said with a wink. As the waitress walked away, Mr. Douglas leaned in closer to Draco, "At least we don't have a troll for a waitress, eh?" he told him, sneering.

Draco nodded curtly, "Right" he said, still looking towards the door for Hermione. The waitress came back with their drinks, wanting to know if when the other guest would be joining them.

"She should be here any-" Draco started to say.

"Sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't keep you waiting" Hermione said as she walked up to the table. Draco stood quickly, staring at her.

"Um, no, no, we were just ordering. Can you give us a minute?" Draco told the waitress. She walked off, nodding politely. Draco pulled Hermione's chair out for her, not able to take his eyes off of her. She smiled slightly, sitting down.

"Hermione, this is Mr. Douglas, Mr. Douglas, this is Miss Granger, my colleague down at the firm" Draco said, introducing them, unable to tear his eyes away from her beauty. She glanced towards him, their eyes meeting. He wished they'd been alone, he would have reached out and took her in his arms in that very moment. Feeling his own face turn a slight shade of pink as he thought about kissing her, he quickly picked up his water, taking a sip of it.

She turned towards Mr. Douglas, addressing him, "Pleased to meet you, sir. I apologize for my tardiness. I had a bit of trouble with my hair!" Hermione said, joking with him.

"Ah, women, you all think more of your hair than anything else. You're absolutely stunning, my dear, if I do say so myself" Douglas said, kissing the top of her hand. Hermione wanted to puke, but knew better. They needed this sell, even if it meant her acting like a giddy school girl.

"Thank you, sir" she said smiling. She glanced to Draco who was smirking at her over his glass of water. The waitress came to the table, taking their order, then walked away.

"So, Mr. Douglas, are you a single man?" Hermione asked flirtatiously.

"I am. Recently divorced. The ex-wife left me with that piece of land you all are wanting to buy, she wanted to turn it into a dance studio, I wanted nothing to do with it. But, when we divorced, she said her new boyfriend was buying her a place uptown for her to build a dance studio, so she gave it to me. I have no use for it, I mean, what's an accountant like me going to do with an abandoned warehouse?" he said with a booming laugh.

Hermione and Draco laughed lightly, taking sips of their waters. Hermione flagged the waitress down, asking for a large glass of red wine. Draco leaned back in his chair, raising his eyebrows at her, "Drinking tonight, Hermione?" he asked.

"I can think of no better night to do it" she told him as the waitress reappeared with her wine. She downed half of the glass almost immediately, knowing she was going to need it to be able to get through the night. "Well, I think I speak for both myself and Draco when I say we'd be happy to take it off of your hands. Give you one less reminder of your wife" Hermione told him, smiling sweetly.

Mr. Douglas gave her a leering smile, "Such a heavy topic for the dinner table, love. However, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it seriously" he told her.

"She's right, Mr. Douglas, we're willing to pay more than your asking price for the land and building. More than anyone is going to offer you in this economy. You'd be crazy to turn it down" Draco told him, taking a sip of his water. The food came out then, they ate, listening to Mr. Douglas's lame jokes, commenting on the food, Hermione ordering two more glasses of wine. She was becoming rather giddy by the time dinner was ending.

"Mr. Douglas! I do believe that kind of talk isn't appropriate for a public dinner table" Hermione said laughing, the wine hitting her.

"Ah, you're right Miss Granger, perhaps we should schedule for a more private dinner party next time" he told her smirking. Draco nearly choked on his water.

"Well, sir, you'll have to contact my assistant, Mallory, she sets up all of my appointments" Hermione told him, lying.

"Really? Even your private ones?" he asked.

"Oh yes, especially my dates. Has to make sure they don't conflict with any business meetings you see. Never mix business with pleasure, I always say" she told him with a wink. She could feel her food coming back up.

"Mm…this is an absolutely brilliant co-worker you have here, Mr. Malfoy" Douglas said to him.

"She's the best, sir" Draco told him, smiling at Hermione. Hermione smiled back at him, catching his eye and staring into them for a moment.

"So. Mr. Douglas. What do you say to our business proposition?" Hermione asked outright, turning back to him, as the waitress brought them the check and they prepared to leave.

"To the point. I like that in a woman" he said with a wink, "I think you have a deal" he told them.

Draco and Hermione's faces lit up. "Good man!" Hermione told him, downing the rest of her wine. Draco handed the waitress the bill and money, then stood extending his hand to Mr. Douglas, "Yes, very good decision sir. I'll have my assistant fax you the paperwork tomorrow morning and after signing I'll get you the money as quickly as possible" he told him.

Mr. Douglas shook his hand firmly, "Agreed. And you, Miss Granger, I'll be calling your assistant in the morning also" he said as he kissed the top of her hand and winked at her.

"Oh, looking forward to it, sir" she said politely, getting her coat from the hostess.

"Until then, love. Mr. Malfoy, I'll speak with you in the morning. Pleasure doing business with both of you" he told them as they walked out of the restaurant.

"And you also" Draco said. They watched him walk away down the sidewalk, disappearing around the corner. Draco turned to Hermione with the happiest face she'd ever seen on him. He was genuinely smiling, his eyes lit up. She smiled back, largely, as he picked her up, twirling her around in the air, completely overjoyed.

"Ahhh, you were brilliant, Hermione!" he told her excitedly.

She laughed as he twirled her around and then sat her down on the pavement, "You weren't so bad yourself, you know" she told him.

"Well, I like to think my dashing smile usually gets me what I want" he told her smugly.

"What dashing smile?" she joked.

"Oh that hurt, Hermione!" he said laughing, "You damage my pride!" he told her.

"I think you'll survive" she said as they walked down the sidewalk.

"So, what now? Celebrate?" he asked excitedly.

"No I think I'm just going to go home, go to sleep. I didn't get much last night" she told him, sighing heavily.

"Right. I'll walk you home, then" he said taking her hand. She smiled slightly, apparating to her street.

"This is where you live?" he asked.

"Yes. Right down there" she said, pointing to the apartment building in front of them.

"So what are you going to do when he calls in the morning?" he asked.

"What? Oh, I'm not going to work in the morning. It's Saturday. And besides, Mallory is your assistant, not mine" she told him with a smirk.

"That is so wrong. Poor Mallory, she's going to be so confused" Draco said, shaking his head.

"Yes, I suppose you should warn her when you go in" she told him as they started walking up the stairs to her flat.

"What floor are you on?" he asked looking up at the many stairs.

"Top" she said smiling.

"And there are how many floors?"

"18" she said.

His face faltered, "Maybe we should take the elevator"

She laughed, "If you want" she said, stepping off of the stairs and walking down the hall to the elevator. Draco walked behind her, hands in his pockets, still in awe of what a great night it had been.

"So, you drink wine when you're uncomfortable?" he asked, smirking.

"Usually. Or when I need to get through something rather…difficult" she said as they stepped onto the lift.

"Oh, right. Tonight was rather uncomfortable, wasn't it?" he asked.

"It wouldn't have been if I knew how strong he was going to be coming on to me. I know you said he liked women, but damn! He couldn't have been more creepy about it!" she exclaimed.

"I tried to warn you. I'm just glad your dress didn't go any lower" he said turning towards her.

"Oh really? So I chose the wrong dress? Was it too prostitute-like for you, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked him, batting her eyes.

"No, not at all. Classy and sexy, merged into one. You achieved the impossible Miss Granger" he told her. Hermione blushed at the thought of him thinking of her as sexy. She looked down, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as the elevator came to a stop. They walked out of it, going all the way to the end of the hall. She paused in front of her door, "Thank you, for tonight. I really had a good time" she said.

He smiled, "It was just business, Hermione. Imagine how much fun you'd have if it wasn't" he said with a wink. She blushed, "Right" she said, turning to unlock her door.

"Goodnight, Draco" she said quietly, the lock on her door clicking open. She looked up into his intense blue eyes, he reached out, running his thumb across her cheek. She took a deep breath as he dropped his hand.

"Night, Hermione" he said, walking backwards from her, down the hall to the lift. She opened her door, closing it behind her gently. Leaning against the door, she thought about running after him, telling him to wait. But she didn't know what to say after that. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was new to her, something she hadn't felt when she was with Ron. A moment later she felt the vibration of the wood behind her, someone was knocking on her door. She opened it quickly, finding Draco standing with one arm hovered over the doorframe, the other tucked in his suit jacket. He looked deep in her eyes as she opened the door wide. His eyes were fierce, his breathing shallow, he looked scared and determined all at once.

"Are you ok, Draco?" she asked.

"No" he said simply.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, concerned. He did a double-take, staring down at her concerned face, "This" he said before taking his hand out of his coat pocket, grabbing her waist and pulling her closely to him. His other hand shot to the back of her neck, pulling her face to his as he kissed her with every breath in his body. She was startled as he grabbed her so quickly, pressing his lips to hers. Her heart fluttered as she melted into his arms. She'd never felt anything like this, nothing with so much…passion, intensity, it was like he thought if he let go of her she might burst into flames.

He pulled back, looking at her face,, she looked lost, her eyes full of want, need. Hermione grabbed him by his vest, pulling him into her flat, slamming the door behind him as she pushed him against the door, kissing him again, her other hand pulling his face down closer to hers. He licked her lips, wanting her to open them, she obliged, deepening the kiss, raking her tongue across the roof of his mouth. She undid the buttons on his vest quickly, throwing it to the floor, then started pulling his shirt out of his pants. He tried helping her, but she was like an animal. Finally she got his shirt off, revealing his black tank underneath. She ran her hands up and down his strong arms, she'd secretly always wanted to. He hiked her dress up, picking up her leg and wrapping it around his waist, squeezing her bottom as he did so. She pulled back from him, biting his bottom lip slowly. He grasped her leg tighter, bringing it higher on his hip as he started kissing her jaw line. She leaned her neck back, breathing heavily, granting him better access, all the while entangling her hand in his hair. He felt the vibration of her moan quietly under his lips as they reached her breasts. Taking his other hand, he unzipped the back of it, letting it fall on its own off of her shoulders. Her nipples were aching, begging to be touched. Bending lower, he took one in his mouth, toying with it. He circled it with his tongue, then sucked as she arched her back towards him. His hand was tracing the line of her bottom, getting ever so close to her folds and moving away. He was enjoying teasing her. Tracing her folds with his thumb, he felt how wet she was. He never imagined he'd ever be in this moment with her. He nibbled at her breasts, her hands pushing him against her. Looking up at her intense expression, he plunged his middle finger into her, quickly adding another finger to tighten the area around them. She gasped, taken by surprise, then whimpered in pleasure. He kissed her collarbone as he plunged his fingers in and out of her slowly, torturing her. Smiling against her skin, he averted his eyes to her, she was looking at the ceiling, eyes rolling in the back of her head. Her hands found their way down his slick, sweaty body, to his belt, undoing it flawlessly. She reached into his pants, grasping his long, alert, manhood. When she did this, he pushed his fingers further into her, making her moan. Toying with the tip of him, she made tiny circles with her fingers before running her thumb and first two fingers down it hard. Starting out slow and picking up pace, bearing down on his shaft. She heard him moan. He pulled her closer against the wall with his other hand, pushing his fingers inside her harder. As she quickened her pace, his breathing shallowed. He felt her whimper against his neck as he pulled his fingers out from inside her, he didn't want her to reach her climax yet. He kissed her lips, hard, eyes rolling in the back of his head as she raked her fingers against him. Pulling away from her, he looked into her eyes again, she'd never looked so beautiful. She stopped her stroking, putting her hands on either side of his face as they stared at each other, breathing heavily. Both knowing what they wanted, they kissed again, Draco picking her up on his waist and carrying her to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed, gently, standing above her almost naked body at the end of the bed. She sat up, smiling slightly, pulling him towards her by his belt, kissing him softly. Without breaking the kiss, he crawled ontop of her as she scooted back to the front of the bed. He held himself up on his arms, staring at her. Her hair had fallen out of its once perfect braid, makeup had made circles under her eyes, she was more vulnerable and beautiful now than she'd ever been.

"You're beautiful" he whispered to her. Her hands were busy taking his pants off as he said it, catching her off guard. She looked up at him, blushing, then, once she'd gotten his pants off, she kissed him, hard, pulling him down on her. Her nails dug into his back as he kissed her neck once more. Then he stopped, staring at her again. She was about to ask him what the matter was when he plunged into her. She felt her back arch, a large gasp escaping from her breath. Her hands gripped the bed sheets underneath them, legs bending up, spreading further. He plunged into her again, taking it slow, she moaned against his neck. He rocked a little quicker in and out of her, kissing her neck and shoulder as he did so. Her back arched with his every move, they were in sync, like a perfect melody.

"Gods…Draco! Harder" she whimpered, wanting more of him. No one had ever made Hermione feel like this…so erotic…so dirty. It felt so right, but she knew it was so wrong, and she didn't care, it was perfect. And she knew that no one else could make her feel like that. Her nails dug into his back again as he plunged faster and faster into her. The sweat beaded off of their bodies. She tangled a hand in his wet hair, pulling his face to hers. They were both reaching their climax, their bodies shaking. She could feel the cold sweat bead on her forehead as she approached it. Moaning against his lips, she pulled his hair, aching for it. His breathing shallowed as he approached his climax. He knew they were both on the verge of reaching it, feeling their bodies shake vigorously. With one final deep plunge, she came, feeling her body shudder above his. He pulled out quickly, knowing he was cumming at that moment also, both crying out in pleasure.

Looking up at her, he kissed her forehead, then laid down on top of her, his head resting directly above her breasts, on her heart. She stroked his hair, looking up at the ceiling fan, watching it as it went round and round. Her legs were numb, she doubted she would be able to walk even if she wanted to. He listened to her heartbeat as it went from erratic to steady. She looked down at him, watching his breathing go into sleep mode, long slow breaths took over him. Smiling slightly, Hermione continued to stroke his still damp hair until she fell asleep as well, claming that night to be the happiest night of her life.


	4. Fire Starting a Riot

Hermione woke up the next morning with a slight headache. All she wanted was to go back to sleep, her entire body ached, from the tips of her fingers to her toes. Rolling over, she found the other side of her bed empty, a single rose laying on the pillow with a note. She smiled to herself, remembering the night's events. She sat up, picked up the rose and smelled it, then reached for the note.

Hermione,

Sorry for leaving, I would have woken you, but you looked too beautiful and peaceful to wake. I must go into work to take care of some business. I'd like to stop by later…if that's ok with you -D.

She quickly scribbled a note on the back of it and handed it to her owl, Pansy, to take to Draco at the ministry. After that, she slipped out of bed, putting on some jogging pants and a jacket before apparating to the person she needed to talk to most, Ginny's. She knew Harry wouldn't be home, aurors always worked on Saturdays, so she knew she had no chance of running in to him. She apparated directly into Ginny's home, it was on the outskirts of London, nearly scarring the skin off of Ginny who was cleaning in the kitchen.

"Hermione! You had to apparate directly in the house and not on the stoop?" Ginny asked her, totally startled out of her mind. She'd dropped the pot she was drying, creating a large clatter on the floor, scaring away her two cats. Hermione laughed. "Sorry. Just thought I'd pay you a visit seeing as I've skipped out on you the past two nights for dinner" she told her, blushing slightly.

"Yes, you have! Are you hungry? You look like you just woke up" Ginny told her.

"A bit. And yes I did. Why? I haven't even looked at a clock" Hermione told her, glancing around the room. She sat down at the small wood table they had in the middle of their quaint, cottage kitchen.

"It's after twelve! Jeez Hermione, how late were you up last night?" Ginny asked her.

"I don't know. Honestly I'm not sure that its because I was up late" Hermione said, looking at the table.

Ginny dropped the skillet she had in her hand, eyes wide. A smirk broke out on her face as she stood back up from picking up the pan.

"Wait, wait, what do you want to eat? Then we can talk about what you may or may not have done last night" she said smiling.

Hermione laughed, "Of course, wouldn't want to interrupt your cooking! I'll have just an egg" she told her. Ginny got the eggs out, making the two of them a brunch to enjoy while they talked. If there was one thing Ginny loved doing, it was cooking. Hermione watched her work, wishing she could cook half as well as Ginny, it'd never been one of her strong points. When she finished, Ginny sat their plates down in front of them, along with a plate of fruit and muffins.

"Well, someone's been keeping themselves occupied" Hermione said

"Well, Harry's gone most of the time, and James…well, James is about to drive me crazy, he does everything he can to pick on little Albus" Ginny explained.

"Where are they now?" Hermione asked, taking apart the top of a muffin.

"At mom's. She keeps them on Saturdays since Harry comes home early. He should be home soon actually" Ginny said, glancing at the clock. "So…what's this he's been telling me about you and Malfoy?" she asked, getting straight into the gossip.

"It started Tuesday. His department was buying a piece of land that's protected under my department, so I send him a letter, he was a complete prat, I stormed down there to show him the violation, he became smug and told me the only way to keep him from making the purchase was to find another piece of land, by Monday. Well, obviously, I have no idea how that crap works, so on Wednesday I had to go ask him for help" Hermione started explaining.

"You? Asking for help?" Ginny said, shocked.

"I know. Shocking. Anyway, he said he would help me, and so he took me to lunch. No, he did not ask me out, he sort of said we were going to look for a piece of land and then just decided he was hungry. So we found the land. Thursday, we went to lunch again to talk about buying strategies, because I had to go to that dinner with him and the client last night. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry have went to see Draco-" Hermione said.

"Draco? It's Draco now? Not Malfoy?" Ginny asked at the sudden change. She'd never known Hermione to use Malfoy's first name.

Hermione blushed, "I'm getting there! Be patient! So Harry and Ron have been to see Draco in the three days that we've just been seen together in the halls. Ron apparently threatened to kill him. Anyway, so yesterday, we'd had this spat about whether or not he'd changed, and we saw each other that day…just to confirm dinner, but at dinner last night, I had to fake flirt with the client and practically throw myself at him…it was terrible! I drank wine, Ginny! Wine!" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny laughed at her.

"So if last night was so terrible, why do you look so happy this morning?" Ginny asked, sipping her tea.

"Again, you're rushing my story! So we got the client, he's going to sell us his land. And we were both so extraordinarily happy when we left dinner. He wanted to go out and celebrate, but I just wanted to curl up in my bed and go to sleep, I was so tired. He offered to walk me to my place. So we get there, we say goodnight, but it's…it was so different. It was like a forced goodnight. I closed my door after watching him walk down the hall towards the lift, and then I heard knocking. So I opened it, and it was Draco, standing there, and…" Hermione's voice traveled off.

"Oh…my…oh my gods, Hermione…you didn't!" Ginny said smiling, she shoved her arm as she said it. Hermione looked at her over her cup of tea, her eyes smiling.

"You did!" Ginny exclaimed, wide-eyed. She was very intrigued now, her best friend going rogue.

"I did…" Hermione said, now putting down her cup of tea.

"And…" Ginny said, waiting for details.

"And…it was…Ginny it was amazing…absolutely amazing. No one…no one's ever made me feel like he did last night. It started out just feeling so wrong, in the back of my mind, I was yelling at myself, wondering what the hell I was doing. Then…I don't know…it just became…somehow the two of us together just because right. It was the most passion, the most intensity, the most desirable I've ever felt. I've never felt like I was really wanted by anyone, not like this atleast. It was like we were the only two people on the planet, nothing else mattered. We were perfect" Hermione said, looking out of Ginny's kitchen window, in a daze.

Ginny smiled at her, "I'm happy for you, Hermione. Even if it is with him. If he can make you feel like that, then it doesn't matter" she told her.

"Thanks, Gin" Hermione said, her hands still wrapped around the teacup.

"So have you told anyone?" Ginny asked.

"No! Just you. I don't even know if there's anything to tell. It may just be a thing" Hermione said, moving around the food on her plate with her fork.

Ginny gave her a solemn face, "It won't just be a thing if you want it to be more" she told her.

Hermione smiled, "I guess I'll just have to wait it out" she told her.

"Wait what out?" Harry asked, coming through the doorway of the kitchen happily. He looked between the two of them, then stopped at Hermione, noticing her appearance, "Hermione, you look terrible. Are you ok?" he asked.

She laughed, "I'm great, Harry. Thanks for asking" she said.

"Oh, good! Am I interrupting girl talk?" he asked, setting his briefcase on the table. Hermione looked at him suspiciously, he was acting rather weird.

"Are you ok? I haven't seen you like this since 6th year when you took that lucky potion" Hermione told him.

"Really? Oh, well, actually I figured that you would be here and if you weren't I was going to go see you because I neede to talk to you" he said, sitting down.

"Oh? About what?" she asked.

"Malfoy called me Harry today when we were getting on the lift" Harry said, popping a grape into his mouth. Hermione almost spat the water she'd just put into her mouth out.

"What?" she asked. Ginny smirked at her.

"Yes. And then, he remarked on how lovely the day was. I told him it was raining outside, and he said he didn't notice. You wouldn't happen to know why exactly he's so happy would you?" Harry asked.

Hermione pretended to stir her tea again, not looking up, "No, no. Are you sure he wasn't just being polite?" she asked.

"Hermione…our morning exchange consists of a nod…that's polite. The bloke couldn't stop smiling. So, what happened last night?" he asked, now smirking at her.

Her insides squirmed, a smile on her face that she couldn't contain. "Nothing" she told him. She didn't know what he would think, and she wasn't sure she was ready to tell him, especially if it wasn't anything more than a fling. He looked at her face, not wanting to press the subject, "Right. Ok, well, are you going to stay for supper?" he asked her.

"No, I actually should be getting back. I'll see you guys later. Tell the boys I said hello!" Hermione said as she left their home, apparating on the stoop back to her apartment. As she walked up the stairs, unlocking her door, she thought about how Harry might react when he found out. Ideas ran through her head, many of them just as crazy as the next, but she didn't want to dwell on it. Slumping down in the couch, she grabbed the book sitting beside it, and started reading.

Draco couldn't stop smiling the entire day. Not even when his mother came by the office, telling him he was expected at their home for dinner. He didn't even curse the goblin that darted in front of him in the entrance by the fountain that morning, knocking him to the ground. Mallory thought he was under the imperius curse or something, especially when he told her she could go home at twelve and have Monday off. He was trying to wrap up the day early so that he could stop by Hermione's apartment before heading to his mother's for dinner. He wasn't looking forward to it, but with his father in Azkaban, she was rather lonely. He knew he couldn't take Hermione to dinner with him, unfortunately he didn't think his mother would approve. This was the only thing that was saddening his day, the realization that if he wanted a real relationship with her, he might have to give up his family. After finally finishing up the forms on his desk, he grabbed his suit coat off of the back of his chair, striding out of the office and to the lift, leaving the ministry. He immediately apparated to Hermione's floor when he entered the fireplace. He knocked on her door.

She didn't answer immediately, making Draco think that perhaps she had went to Harry's. He knocked again, still no answer. Cautiously, he twisted the unlocked doorknob. Stepping inside, he looked around, "Hermione?" he said quietly.

Hermione sat up on the couch, hearing her name. She'd dozed off while reading. She looked towards the open door, Draco standing in it. Their eyes met, Hermione immediately blushed, her stomach in knots. She got off of the couch as he strode towards her.

"Hi" he told her, smiling.

"Hi" she said, looking down at the floor, her face red. He stepped closer to her, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She smiled smally up at him as he stroked her cheek, his blonde hair falling over his eyes. He leaned his forehead against hers, "Hi" he said again

She laughed, "I think we already said that"

He smirked, "Right" he said leaning towards her, kissing her lips lightly. She smiled against his lips as she kissed him back. When he pulled back, he stood up straight, looking down at her, shaking the hair out of his eyes.

"So what'd you do today?" he asked, stepping back, turning and taking off his suit jacket, laying it across the armchair.

She shrugged, "Not much. Went to Ginny's. You get taken care of?" she asked him.

"I did. And he also asked about you" he said smirking.

"He did? Oh no…what'd he say?" she asked.

"Asked Mallory to set up a date for the two of you, thankfully it was after he'd signed the papers and I'd sent Blaise over with the money. Mallory told him you were booked for the next three months, but if you had a cancellation you would call him personally" he told her.

She laughed, "Remind me to thank her on Monday"

"Tuesday. I gave her Monday off" he corrected her.

"Really….I guess Harry was right, you are in a good mood today" she told him, smiling.

He strode towards her, picking her up and setting her on the back of the couch, her legs falling lazily on either side of him. He smiled up at her, "I like to think I am" he said before leaning into her face, kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands ran up and down her thighs. She entangled her hand in his hair, deepening the kiss, arching her back into him. He ran kisses down her jaw line, nibbling on her earlobe before kissing her neck. He pulled back, looking at her face, smiling.

"I have to go" he told her quietly.

"What?" she asked.

He smirked, "My mother asked me to go home for dinner. I can't tell her no" he said, his hands sitting on her hips, thumbs rubbing her sides.

She sighed, "Right. Your mother" she said, cringing at the thought of his mother. He rubbed his neck, nervously, "Yes, my wonderful mother. I think you'd like her" he said with a wink as he walked to the chair, putting on his suit jacket.

"Yes, I think I would love a woman who's sister tried to kill me multiple times. And the woman married to your father. Sounds delightful" Hermione said sarcastically.

"Don't forget, I'm part of that dreadful family you're speaking of. And…I don't think you have such a problem with me anymore" he said walking back to her, kissing her lightly.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well…I mean, you-" he said nervously.

"Draco"

"What?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Shut up" she told him smiling, kissing him again. He smiled against her lips, getting caught up in the moment.

"Ah, damn woman, I'll never make it there at this rate. I have to go" he said between kisses. She laughed at him, "Well go then!" she said, pushing him away lightly. He smiled, attacking her, the two of them falling back onto the couch, laughing. He kissed her again as they lay there, then sitting up, he simply stared at her, caressing her cheer with his thumb.

"I wish you could go with me" he said quietly to her.

She smiled lightly, "Not today. I'd hate for your mother to have a heart attack, especially when she has no knowledge of us even working together, much less sleeping together" Hermione told him.

"You're probably right. I have to go" he said, sitting up.

"Ok" she said quietly.

"Ok" he said kissing her again.

She pushed him away lightly, "Draco, your mother's going to kill you, now go!" she said smiling.

"I know" he said kissing her again and again.

"Draco!" Hermione said laughing.

"I'm going!" he said laughing, then kissed her again.

She laughed at his constant kisses as he tried to leave, "Draco!" she said again.

"For real this time!" he said heading towards the door. She laughed as she stood up off of the couch, walking beside it. He stopped as he reached for the door handle, turning back towards her, "What if I did tell her? I mean she can't react too badly, its not like-" he started saying, walking back towards her. She shook her head, grabbing his face and kissing him again. He smiled against her lips again, obliviously happy.

"Tell her what you want, Draco, but you have to go!" she told him.

"I'll come back by later. When I'm finished at mother's, I mean" he whispered to her.

"Ok" she said before kissing him again.

"Ok" he inched towards the door, turning back to kiss her once again. "Draco!" she shrieked.

"Ok, ok, I'm going!" he said before smiling at her, then turning, leaving out of the door and apparating in the hall. Hermione sighed, still smiling, falling back on the couch to stare at the ceiling. She didn't remember ever being this happy before.

Draco appeared in front of his parents' door a moment later. He knocked lightly, waiting for his mother to answer. Looking around the grounds, he realized that he was still smiling, unable to wipe the grin from his face. The door opened, he turned around, finding his mother standing there.

"Draco! Oh, darling, I'm so happy you came!" she said hugging him.

"Of course, mother" he said, kissing her cheek, pulling a rose from behind his back and presenting it to her. She smiled up at him, "Son, it's beautiful! You sure know how to make an old lady feel lovely" she said, heading inside. Draco followed, closing the door behind him. The home was just how it was when he'd moved out. Still large, creepy, the feeling of emptiness engulfing the place. He put his hands in his pockets as he strode into the dining room.

"Mum, are we eating in here?" he asked her.

"Oh, no darling. I thought we could just eat in the kitchen seeing as it's just the two of us. Catch up on what you've been up to" she said smiling at him.

"I'd like that" he told his mother. She'd always been his best friend, someone he could tell anything to, someone he wasn't afraid to talk to about his feelings. He walked into the kitchen, setting down at the small table in the middle of the room. He was still smiling as he looked around the familiar room. Narcissa got two plates down out of the cupboard, setting them on the counter beside the stove. They'd had to get rid of all of their house elves, but one. She couldn't keep up with all of them without Lucius there. Looking at her son's smile, her eyes lit up.

"Draco, there's something different about you today" she told him.

"What? Oh, yeah. Good day at work" he lied, running a hand through the hair on his neck.

"Draco….who is she?" she asked. Draco's eyes shot up to hers, looking at her quizzically. She smiled, "Mother's intuition" she said simply.

"Right. Well, she's…she's different" he told her.

"Different? Well I can tell that by the silly grin on your face. How so?" she asked, making them both plates of food.

Draco thought a minute, "I don't know. Have you ever been with someone you know is totally wrong for you based on everything you've ever known, but being with them just seems like the most natural and right thing in the world" he said, trying to explain.

Narcissa walked over to the table, sitting the plates down in front of them. "Draco…it sounds like to me, this girl makes you pretty happy"

Draco dug his fork into the food, taking a bite, "Yeah, she does" he told her smiling.

She smiled at him, "It fills my heart to see you so happy. How's work going?" she asked, taking a bite of her food.

"It's going very well, I actually just made a land purchase this morning. Blaise and I are showing it off to a potential buyer on Monday" he told her.

"Very good, son! I'm so proud of what you've done since school" she told him.

Draco took another bite of his food, swallowing hard, "How's father doing?" he asked.

"Oh, as good as he can, I guess. He's supposed to get out soon. Says Kingsley told him he'd let him out on house arrest. Let him get out of the dementor's breathing ground and actually breathe fresh air" Narcissa said.

"Good. I'm glad. When are you going to see him again?" he asked.

"Tomorrow. Going to head up there early in the morning, probably stay most of the day. They've been nice enough to let me visit him without the dementors being around. I can actually be around him without having to worry about conjuring a patronus charm every five minutes" she explained.

Draco nodded as his mother talked about visiting Azkaban, and about how lonely she was at home. They talked more of his work, and she inquired more about the girl Draco was seeing.

Draco stood, putting his plate in the sink, turning around and grinning at his mother, "You don't stop, do you?" he asked, laughing.

"Not when it comes to my son! I want to meet this girl. I've never seen you this happy, Draco" she told him, standing up and taking her own plate to the sink.

He laughed, "Right. Ok, one day, maybe. Not now, though. It might scare her" he said.

"Scare her? I wouldn't scare any girl that makes you this happy!" she said.

"If you say so, mum. Could you tell father I said hello for me tomorrow? Send him my love" Draco said, leaning on the sink.

"Of course dear, he asks about you every week." she told him.

"You go there every week?" he asked.

"Yes, darling. Every Sunday. Sometimes I go more. Depends on how my week is going here" she said, going to put the leftover food in containers. He looked over her shoulders, "Oh, mum, would you mind if I took Hermione some food? I'm sure she hasn't eaten anything all day" he said without realizing it.

Narcissa dropped the containers she had in her hands, the glass one shattering on the floor. She stared at him, her eyes wide. Draco looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed, then bent down, taking out his wand and cleaning up the broken glass. "Mum, are you ok?" he asked her.

"Her…Hermione?" Narcissa whispered.

Draco went pale, "Mother, I-" he started to say.

"That's why you didn't want to tell me? Because you're dating a muggle-born? Draco, what are you thinking?" she said to him.

"I was thinking that she makes me happy, and that's all that matters" he said.

"Draco! After everything she did in school!" she argued.

"What did she do mum? Besides be a girl of supposed inferior birth? So what if she's muggle-born?" he argued back.

Narcissa took a deep breath, "She makes you happy?" she asked.

"Yes. She does. You said it yourself, you've never seen me this happy before" he said angrily.

"I haven't" she said, her arms crossed, staring at the floor. She glanced up at his shaded face he looked hurt. Reaching up, she turned his face towards her, "If she makes you this happy, it doesn't matter what I think. All that matters is the two of you. And I can accept that" she told him. He sighed, hugging his mother tightly.

"Thank you" he whispered to her. She pulled back, pursing her lips, smiling slightly.

She nodded, "Right, now, let's make her a plate of food, shall we?" she told him. Draco smiled, helping his mother make Hermione a plate of food.

After Draco left his mother's, he apparated into Hermione's apartment. He looked around, not seeing her. Walking into her kitchen, he found her rummaging through the cupboards, looking for something to eat. He leaned against the doorframe.

"Dammit, there's nothing in the bloody house to eat! Draco!" she said, jumping as she turned towards the door.

He smirked, "Hungry?" he asked.

"Starving" she said pitifully.

He pulled out the plate of food from behind his back, smiling, "Courtesy of the Malfoy home" he said, setting it on her bar. She walked quickly over to the bar, looking at him, not believing that he'd brought her food from his mother's. Unwrapping the foil, she looked at the large plate of food.

"Did your mother make all of this food?" Hermione asked, taking a fork from the drawer and digging in.

Draco laughed, "Most of it. Except the dessert, she never really could get measurements right" he said.

"Right, this is amazing! No wonder you wouldn't pass up her food" Hermione said, her mouth full.

He smiled, "Yeah, I was actually surprised she gave me such a large plate" he said.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Well, I sort of let it slip that it was you I was seeing" he said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. Hermione dropped her fork, "You did what?" she asked. He looked up at her nervously. Her eyes grew wide, "Draco, you didn't!" she said.

"She was fine with it. She said as long as I was happy then it didn't matter what she thought" he explained.

"It's not really your mother I'm worried about, it's your father" she told him.

"Yes, well, father's in Azkaban, for a while, so…I'd say you have nothing to worry about" he said sighing, pulling her closer to him, wrapping his long fingers around her waist. She smiled, leaning in, kissing him slowly.

"So she really said it didn't matter?" she asked.

Draco smiled against her lips, "She did" he said, nudging her nose with his, then kissing her. She pulled him closer to her, entwining her hand in his hair. Draco's hands slid down her hips, grabbing her under her butt, lifting her on to his waist. She wrapped her legs around his torso, smiling. He looked up at her smiling face as he walked to the bedroom, holding her on his waist. He said her on the bed, taking his shirt off and crouching down ontop of her. She pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it to the ground along with her bra. As she scooted back on the bed, her pants came off, falling off the side of the bed. Draco crawled with her onto the bed, stalking his prey. His eyes were animalistic, his smile sneaky. She laughed, grabbing his neck, pulling him to her, kissing him fiercely. He kissed his way down her jaw, neck, stopping to nibble on the small of her neck, making a growling noise.

Hermione laughed out loud, wrapping her leg around his waist, "Draco! You're an animal" she told him.

He sat back on his knees, smirking at her, "An animal, huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, an untamed beast, just waiting to pounce" she said hungrily, still smiling slyly at him.

He looked down at her naked body, then back up to her eyes, "Let's see how much of a beast you really think I am" he said, the smile fading from his face, his eyes luring at her. She stared at him, intrigued. She was about to ask what he was on about when she felt her leg being hoisted above his shoulder. She looked down just as his tongue licked her folds. Hermione arched her back in surprise, she hadn't been expecting this. She felt him shift, burying his face in her mound. His tongue teased her, enlightening every nerve she had down there. She squirmed slightly, grabbing the sheets beneath her in her fists, her eyes rolling in the back of her head as his tongue darted in and out of her, swirling in her.

She moaned loudly, taking in a sharp breath. She felt her legs become numb as he continued. He stopped, nibbling on her folds, licking her clit. Breathing heavily, she picked up her head just enough to look down at him. His eyes were laughing back at her. He turned, burying his head in her mound again, licking every inch of her. His nails dug into her thigh as he held it above his shoulder. She felt her toes point, the sensation of his tongue racing through her entire body. Her legs began to tremble, she moaned loudly again, her breathing quickening. She wriggled beneath him, balling her fists tighter, her jaw clenching. As she reached her climax, she stopped breathing, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, back arching high into the air. She felt herself release, staring at the canopy of her bed.

Looking down, she saw Draco's eyes staring back at her. She sat up quickly, grabbing him by his hair, pulling him to her lips, tasting herself on them. She kissed him hungrily. Draco got comfortable, pulling her spread-eagle legs around his waist, his own legs on either side of her. Pulling back, he cupped her face in his hand, staring into her eyes. She smiled, pushing him back on the bed forcefully.

"Oi! Damn girl!" he said, smirking at her.

She quickly took his pants off, tossing them to the side. Smiling with her eyes, she positioned herself ontop of his erect manhood, then slammed ontop of him, grinding against his hips. He pushed his pelvis forward, grinding with her. He laid back, enjoying watching her face as they fucked. Her hands dug in to his chest as she moved quicker on top of him, the two of them like ocean waves building and crashing into each other. She moaned as they moved faster. He positioned his hands on her thighs, moving her faster and faster with his own rhythm. Watching her face, he flipped her over in one swift movement, thrusting hard into her. She let out a yelp, her breath sharp, Draco's eyes rolled back into his head as he continued to ream her. Hermione thought her legs had fallen off, she couldn't feel them. A knot started building in Draco's stomach, his arms trembling. He could feel her every breath become sharper as he thrust into her faster, the both of them reaching their climax. Shuddering, Hermione let out a low moan, holding her breath as she came. Draco pulled out quickly, cumming at the same moment.

He fell onto his stomach beside her, his entire body sweating. She stared up at the canopy of her bed, trying to get her breath. She looked over at Draco, his eyes staring back at her as he sat up on his left arm, the dark mark barely noticeable. He turned over on his back, staring up at the canopy of the bed with her, his hair wet with sweat. She snuggled closer to him, laying her head on his chest. Draco gently stroked her hair, the butterflies in his stomach returning as he realized that this wasn't a dream.

A/N:: Please review! I hope you guys are liking this fic! It's a short one, only a few more chapters left…sad :-/ Reviews are really appreciated! Let me know that you actually want to read more!


	5. Would You Kill to Save A Life

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night, startled. She'd been dreaming about her and Draco, his father came in, and, surprised at who his son was with, he started beating Draco. Hitting him over and over. Hermione begged him to stop, but her dream changed, Bellatrix was standing over her. Her manic laugh ringing in Hermione's ears. She slapped Hermione, then took out her wand, using the cruciatus curse on her. She could still feel the pain. Bellatrix slapped her again, knocking her off of the bed. When she'd knocked her off, Hermione kept falling, and falling, unable to stop. It was then that she woke up. She took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead. Looking around the room, she noticed Draco wasn't in the bed with her. Hermione got up out of bed, quietly, slipping her robe over her bare body. She walked down the hall, looking around the apartment for him. She thought maybe he'd left. As she turned the corner in her den, she saw a figure standing on her balcony. She sighed, opening the balcony door and slipping outside in the cold air.

Draco stood, looking out over the streets, his blonde hair blowing in the cold wind. He stood in his black dress pants he'd worn the day before, his lean body leaned against the rail, the vein in his forearm pulsating. Every muscle in his back was defined. She stood at the door, watching him for a moment before walking up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, leaning her body on his back. Draco didn't jump as she slipped her arms around him, he'd heard her open the door. She laid her head between his shoulder blades.

"Can you not sleep?" she asked quietly.

"I sleep too easily" he said softly, taking one of her hands, entwining his fingers with hers, "You were tossing and turning in your sleep" he told her quietly.

She sighed against him, "My dreams aren't exactly pleasant" she whispered.

"I heard you scream" he whispered, dropping his head, his hair falling delicately around his face.

She sat her chin on his back, looking up at him, "It's nothing" she said.

Draco turned slightly, looking around at her. Taking his arm, he wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her around to his side, closer to him. She hugged his body, hers fitting perfectly with his. He played with her fingers, looking down at her, "Tell me" he whispered.

She shook her head, "Really, it's nothing. I'm used to them" she told him. The sun was rising over the buildings in the distance, turning the sky a delicate shade of purple. Draco laid his chin on the top of her head, holding her closely to him. Their breathing synced as they stood there, watching the sun rise in silence.

"I didn't mean to wake you" she said quietly after a few minutes.

He pulled back from her, staring in her brown eyes, "You didn't. I had to use the loo" he said, his eyes smiling at her. She smiled, laying her head back on his bare chest.

"What do you say I cook breakfast?" he asked, smiling.

"You? Cook breakfast?" she said, looking up at his grinning face.

"Of course. It has to be better than your cooking" he said slyly.

Her mouth dropped open, "How do you know! You've never eaten anything I cooked!" she said in a high pitch voice.

"Mmm…right, yes, but something tells me I cook at least a little better" he said.

"Do you cook like your mother?" she asked.

"I like to think so" he told her.

"Ok, you can cook breakfast!" she said happily, walking towards the door. He stood at the rail, watching her walk to the door, smiling slightly.

"Draco, are you coming?" she asked, holding the door open. He shook his head, walking through the door and past her.

"Now who's having to be called every minute?" she said smartly.

"I can't help I like the way you walk" he said, walking into the kitchen. She rolled her eyes, sitting on the counter. Draco rummaged through her fridge, getting out eggs, turkey bacon, and blueberries, then in her cabinets to find the ingredients he needed to make pancakes.

"Ooo, feast?" she said happily, looking at the food. He merely smiled at her, breaking the eggs into a bowl and whisking them.

"I'm going to shower while you do this" she told him, hopping down from the counter and heading to the bathroom. Draco watched her walk out of the kitchen, smiling to himself. Hermione showered quickly, eager to try some of Draco's breakfast. She put a small bit of mousse and gel in her hair, scrunching it, leaving it damp. She grabbed her long, black cotton robe from the back of the door, putting it on and walking out of the bathroom to the kitchen. Immediately she was hit with the smell of bacon, of sugar and pancakes. She took a deep breath as she walked into the kitchen, finding Draco finishing up his last batch of pancakes and plating them. She walked behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist once again.

"I can't wait. It smells amazing" she told him.

He turned around to face her, "You smell amazing" he said, the scent of her strawberry shampoo filling his nostrils. He leaned down to her lips, kissing her softly. Again, ever nerve in her body tingled, woken by his touch. His hair fell, tickling her cheeks.

She pulled back, smiling at him, "I'm hungry" she pouted. He snorted, laying his head on her shoulder, laughing at her. Standing up straight, he grinned at her, then walked beside her, getting out of the way of the stove, "Your food, my darling" he whispered to her. She smiled, making her plate eagerly. He stood beside the fridge, watching her as she moved, examining every piece of food before she picked it up, then setting down at the bar. He made himself a plate, joining her.

"Where did you learn to do so many things the muggle way?" she asked him, biting off a piece of bacon.

"After school, Father went to Azkaban, Mum thought with him gone, and her having to let go of so many of the house elves, that I should learn, or we both should learn to do things the muggle way. In case we ever needed it" he said, chewing on a pancake.

"These are brilliant. I guess you do cook like your mum" she said. He smiled at her, blushing slightly.

The doorbell rang, catching them both off-guard, Hermione hopped off of her barstool, "I'll go get that. It's probably a package or something from my parents" she said.

"They still send you care packages?" Draco said smirking.

"Well, yes, they…Oh, you are in so much trouble when I get back" she said, realizing that he was picking on her. He pulled her on his lap, "Mmm…I can't wait" he said, kissing her. She giggled, kissing him back. The doorbell rang again.

"Ugh! I'm going!" she said, frustrated, hopping off of his lap. He slapped her ass as she walked away quickly to the door. When she opened the door, however, she immediately wished she hadn't.

She opened the door, still giggling from Draco slapping her ass, expecting to merely see a postman standing there. She was mistaken. Her smile completely faltered, her eyes wide as she saw the person at the door.

"Um. Ron" she breathed, staring at him, in complete shock. Ron looked at her red face, his expression hurt as he stood in silence at the door.

"What…what are you doing here?" she asked him quickly.

"I wanted to talk to you" he said.

"At…" she looked back inside at her clock, "At 7am? You can't be serious" she told him.

"Well, yes. Yes I am. I need to speak with you, Hermione" he said, pushing on the door.

"No!" she shrieked, nervously.

He was bewildered, "You won't even let me in?" he asked.

"No! It's 7am, Ron!" she said, trying anything as an excuse.

"Hermione, it's not like you were asleep. Let me in. I need to talk to you!" he said, pushing on the door again. Her arms couldn't hold the door, he pushed harder, letting himself in. Hermione's heart was racing out of her chest. She could hear her hearbeat pounding in her ears, almost sure Ron could hear it also. Ron glance around the room, "Hermione, have you been cooking?" he asked, the smell of breakfast in the air.

She swallowed hard, "I might have been" she said, her hands shaking.

"You know you can't cook" he told her, raising an eyebrow, walking towards the kitchen.

"Well I was hungry! Why are you here! To talk to me about my cooking?" she yelled at him frantically.

"No! I came to see how you were doing. Harry said you'd been having to work with Malfoy. I wanted to make sure you were ok" he told her, walking closer to her, trying to reach out and grab her waist. She stepped back quickly from him, shaking her head.

"You think you can just barge in here after three months of not speaking to me and pretend like you care? Just because you think I'm having a hard week having to work with Draco?" she asked in a high pitch voice, not believing what she was hearing. She paced in front of her couch, shaking her head, her hands resting on her hips.

"Draco? Draco? What are you two best pals now?" he asked angrily.

"What does it matter? What do you care? It's not your concern! You can't just come here and expect me to fall into your arms after THREE MONTHS of not even acknowledging my presence!" she yelled.

Ron shook his head at her, "Are you sleeping with him? You fucking whore! How could you, Hermione?" he yelled.

She looked at the floor, shaking her head angrily. Her entire body shook, her chest became heavy, "It's none of your business" she said hoarsely.

"After everything he put you through, everything he put us though? How can you? How do you look at yourself in the mirror? You disgusting whore! Does Harry know about this?" he yelled at her.

She felt weaker and weaker by the moment, "It's none of your damn business, Ron! It's none of your business!" she yelled as he yelled at her.

"It is my business! You, you are my business! Hermione, how could you do this to us?" he asked.

"How could I…We have been broken up for MONTHS! YOU broke up with ME! YOU were sleeping with your precious assistant, weren't you?" she yelled, pointing at him.

"That's not the point! I didn't sleep with some arrogant slime who's father is the biggest dirt bag and worthless excuse for a human on this planet! You're such a whore!" he yelled.

"GET OUT!" Hermione yelled. Ron walked towards the door, "With pleasure" he said.

Her body shook as he walked by her, she opened the door with her trembling hand, not looking up at him. He paused for a minute, staring at her, "Shame, you were such a pretty girl" he said, rubbing his thumb on her cheek.

"Get…Out" she whispered, tears streaming down her face. Ron started to walk slowly out the door, before feeling himself being pushed out of the door, falling on the floor. He quickly looked back at the door, just in time to see Draco's face, staring at him as he slammed the door. Ron jumped up quickly, beating on the door, screaming at them.

"MALFOY! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! YOU GET AWAY FROM HER! OPEN THIS DOOR!" he yelled, beating his fist on the door.

Draco ignored him as he cradled Hermione in his arms. He'd had to catch her as she slid down the back of the door and onto the floor. He pulled her into his lap, rocking her back and forth, his chest wet with tears. He stroked her hair with his hands. She cried fully into his chest. She'd never felt so safe, so comforted. No matter how much Ron beat on the door of her apartment, she knew he wasn't getting in, not as long as Draco was there. She'd never seen Ron like that. He'd never downed her, never called her names or verbally abused her. It shocked her, and hurt her more than anything. Draco tilted her head back, looking in her puffy eyes. He placed his thumb on her cheek, wiping away a tear that was falling.

"And the day started out so promising" he whispered, smiling slightly.

She snorted, "So much for that." she told him, the corner of her mouth turning up in a smile. He leaned in, kissing her forehead, pulling her closer to him. She laid her head back on his chest, the tears stopping, her breathing becoming even. Then she heard her stomach growl. She froze. She felt Draco's chest moving underneath her, he was laughing! She pulled away, looking up at him, trying to scowl, failing miserably.

"I take it you're still hungry?" he asked her, smiling.

She huffed, "I might be"

He laughed, "Come on, you can finish while I shower" he told her, moving to stand. He stood, helping her up also. They walked into the kitchen, Draco putting a heating charm on her food so that it would be warm. She sat at the bar, turning to eat her food as he walked down the hall, stepping into the shower. Hermione sat at the bar, picking at her food, only eating every other bite. Ron's words played over and over in her head, like a broken record. She sighed, standing up from the bar, placing the left over food in containers, placing it in the fridge. She stood at the sink, putting a spell on the dishes to they would wash themselves, then gazed out of the window, resting her hands on the counter. She took a deep breath before feeling Draco's cold arms wrap around her. Almost immediately, she leaned back on his chest, feeling safe again. He kissed the small of her neck softly, trailing down her throat. She closed her eyes, arching her neck, giving him better access. He stopped, looking down at her sad face.

"Come on, put some clothes on, I want to show you something" he told her softly, taking her hand. She walked with him to her bedroom, going in her closet to pick out some clothes. As she grabbed a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and a black hoodie. Draco raised his eyebrows at her attire.

"What?" she asked.

"I think my style is rubbing off on you" he said smirking. She looked down at her dark outfit, shaking her head at herself. "Yeah, you're right, it is a bit dreary, isn't it?" she said, smiling. She took off the hoodie, rummaging through the closet again, finally finding an oversized purple sweatshirt, the neck cut out of it. She put on a white tank under it and turned back around to him, "Is this less…like you?" she asked, smirking at him.

"Yeah, I like this better" he said, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to him as he leaned on one of the posters of the bed, sitting his hands on her hips.

"What are you wearing?" she asked him, looking down at his bare chest.

"Nothing. I don't need clothes where were going" he told her.

"Where are we-" she started to say, but he had already taken her hand apparating. She regained her footing as they arrived at his destination. Standing up straight, she looked around her at the large room she was standing in. The high walls were painted a cream color, a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In front of her stood a mirror, at least 10 feet tall. She turned around, the grand four poster bed behind her draped in black and green silk. The emerald green bedspread was placed perfectly, the pillows stacked up by the headboard. She continued to look around the room, seeing the tall doors on the other side of the room that led on to a large balcony, and the sconces on the walls, candles sitting in them. She turned, looking to the room Draco had walked into. Walking towards it, she saw that it was a large walk-in closet, as big as her bedroom. She gasped, looking around at all of the clothes hanging on the walls. Draco walked around the closet, picking out what he wanted to wear. She turned back around, walking back into the bedroom, continuing to stare. It was then that she realized where she was, her stomach dropping, she became nervous.

Hearing Draco exit his closet, she turned around to face him. He'd put on a pair of black skinny jeans, a tshirt, and dark grey sports coat. Seeing her nervous face, he strode towards her, "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Draco, are we-" she started to ask.

"Mum isn't home, she's visiting father. Don't worry" he reassured her, kissing her forehead, "Come on" he said, his eyes smiling. He took her hand, leading her out of his bedroom and into the large hallway. A black runner lined the long floor, the walls a white marble, tapestries adorned the large walls.

"Good gods, Draco, this place truly is magnificent" she whispered, looking up and around her.

He looked at the walls as they walked down the hall, "I guess" he said, memories of his home being taken over by the death eaters flooding his mind. As much as Hermione told herself she should hate the place, she was very intrigued by the enormity of it. "So where are we going" she asked, her voice excited.

He stopped, looking at her giddy face through his blonde hair that was now falling in his eyes, "And here I was thinking that you were absolutely terrified" he said, smirking.

"I was…I am! I mean…if your father isn't here, then no, I'm not so terrified" she explained. He smiled slightly, shaking his hair from his face, squeezing her hand. He continued walking, holding her hand close to him. At the end of the hall, he stopped in front of a set of large green double-doors. He turned around, standing in front of the door handles, "Are you ready for this?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Draco, after this week, I think I can handle anything" she told him.

He smiled, opening the doors. Hermione gasped, stepping into the largest library she'd ever seen. The back was divided in to two levels, the large fireplace in the middle of the front wall stood the whole of the center, lain in brick. On each side of the fireplace were bookshelves, filled floor to ceiling with books. A ladder stood far in the corner. The couch in front of the fireplace was a luscious shade of green, the floor hardwood. She turned to the back wall where rows upon rows of books stood, a spiral staircase in the center leading up to the second level. Hermione couldn't stop looking around, mesmerized by the sight before her. Draco let go of her hand, walking to the fireplace, lighting it. He pulled back the drapes on the far wall, revealing the large windows behind them. The morning sun shone through them brilliantly.

"Draco…this…" Hermione started to say, breathless.

"I thought you'd like it" he said, smiling, standing beside the window. He laid down on the long bench-like chair that sat by the fireplace, watching her walk around the room, looking at various books. After two hours of looking around the room, Hermione finally brought five books back to where Draco was, eager to look at them. When she approached him, she saw that he was asleep, his blonde hair falling over his eyes. Not wanting to disturb him, after all he hadn't slept much the night before, she curled up on the floor in front of the fireplace, spreading the books out in front of her. She opened the first one, an old, tattered looking book, with the title 'How Alexander the Great really conquered the world.' She started on page one, actually reading every word, wanting to know about the man that she had for so long thought to be a muggle. Every now and then she would glance up at Draco, his chest rising and falling delicately as he slept. She couldn't believe she was in Malfoy Manor, in their library, it was the last place in the world she ever expected her life to take her. She poured over her book, a new history taking over her mind. As she read deeper and deeper, she became unaware of her surroundings. When she felt a hand brush her shoulder, she jumped, snapping out of her book immediately. Draco laughed quietly, watching her jump.

"Alright, Hermione?" he said softly.

"You scared me!" she whispered hoarsely. He chuckled, looking down at her. Sitting down behind her, in front of the couch, he pulled her back to him, his left leg bent lazily on one side of her as she leaned into his chest. He looked at the books she'd picked from the shelves, eyeing the one sitting to his left.

"Sex Through the Ages? Hermione, I didn't know you were into these things" he said, picking up the book. She blushed, pulling it from his hand. "I thought it would be interesting!" she told him, smiling.

"Hmm…let's have a look…Oh, this is…odd" he said opening the book to a random page, as he looked at it, he turned the book and his head sideways, trying to make out the position the two people were in in the picture. Hermione's brows scrunched, also trying to figure it out, "How are they…what else is in here?" she said excitedly.

Draco laughed, flipping the pages, "What about this one? How do you propose this one is achieved?" he said, almost turning the book upside down. Hermione studied the page a minute then turned around to look at him, "Lay down, I think I've got it!" she said, sitting forward. He laughed at her newfound confidence as he laid down. She looked at the book, then at herself and Draco as she tried to mimic the position on the page.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as she went to bend his leg. She laughed again, her hair falling around her face. "Oh stop complaining!" she said smiling. She moved him and herself until she thought she'd achieved what was in the book. Looking up at his face, she pursed her lips, "This is uncomfortable" she told him.

"I agree. How people have sex like this baffles me" he said, laughing. She snorted, laughing at him. Her hair fell around her face as she laid her head on his stomach laughing. He moved, getting comfortable again and pulling her around, back into his lap, between his legs.

"What else is in here?" he asked, flipping through. He landed on another one, completely flipping the book upside down. "Oh dear Merlin, what the bloody hell is that?" Hermione asked turning her head to the side.

"I'm not sure. That just looks uncomfortable!" he said, not willing to believe that these people actually enjoyed having sex that way.

She laughed, "Ok, ok, another one!" she told him. He flipped through the pages, fully intrigued now. They were so engulfed in their laughter and book, they didn't hear the door of the library open, or the footsteps of someone coming towards them.

"This one doesn't look too bad" Draco said, looking at the new picture on the page.

"Yeah, if you're a contortionist! Let me see that!" she told him, taking the book from his hands, "See this one is do-able" she told him as she opened up to a new page.

"That one is boring! Now this one, this one looks fun" he said as he took the book from her hand, flipping to the next page. She laughed, "Of course you would think that one looks fun!" she said.

"Well, yeah, now see this one is ridiculous, I-Father!" Draco said as he saw a figure come around the couch, staring at the two of them. Lucius Malfoy's pale face stared at the two, his nostrils flaring, fuming at the sight of his only son with Hermione Granger. Hermione couldn't breathe as she looked up at him, frozen at the sight. Draco jumped up, standing in front of her now scared, kneeling figure on the Persian rug.

"Father. I thought-" Draco began.

"I don't care what you thought! What are you doing?" Lucius yelled.

"We were reading" he told him, attempting to stand his ground.

"We? You and that…that mud blood? I raised you better than this!" Lucius yelled.

"You will not call her that!" Draco told him.

"I'll be damned, you will not tell me what I am going to do. How long has this been going on? Draco, you will answer me!" Lucius yelled.

"It's none of your damn business" Draco said.

"None of my-You disgust me! How dare you bring this filth into my home! This…this trash! After everything she did to you in school! She is nothing but a worthless mudblood! You taint your blood, Draco! You dare disgrace your family!" Lucius yelled at him again.

"She is not trash! You do not have to approve of who I love and want to be with! Where have you been the past eight years? How dare you come in here and tell me what to do! Do you know how long it's taken for me to build a reputation at the ministry against your name? To separate my name from yours?" Draco yelled at him.

Lucius stared at him, unable to process what his son was saying, "You ignorant, worthless, ungrateful ass!" he spat, raising his cane, striking Draco's leg. Hermione backed up, scared for her life, as Draco's knee buckled and he fell to the floor in front of the fireplace. He struck Draco again. Draco held up his arm, defending himself, only the cane struck it hard, breaking his elbow. He doubled-over in pain, his forehead lying on the floor, wincing in pain.

"You insolent fool! You betray your family!" Lucius yelled, bending over and grabbing Draco by the neck of his shirt, hitting him. Draco's mouth swelled, bleeding. Lucius punched him again, knocking his jaw. He let go of his shirt, taking his cane up again and striking his face. Draco tried to hold himself up on his hands and knees, the back of one of his knees throbbing in pain. He spat the blood spewing from his lip on the floor, his hair falling over his face. He took a deep breath, looking up at the angry face of his father, "Is that all you have, old man?" he whispered.

Lucius's face furrowed, his cane high in the air, bringing it down on Draco's back angrily, "I'll show you what I have" he whispered, raising the cane once more as Draco lost his balance, falling on his side.

"STOP IT!" Hermione yelled, tears running down her face. The words escaped her mouth before she knew they were coming. Lucius stared at her, "You. You think you can speak to me? You filthy, ignorant, mudblood!" he said raising his cane to her.

"That's enough" a voice said from the door. Narcissa strode through the room, taking Lucius's cane from his hand. He blinked a couple of times, staring at Narcissa.

"I said that's enough. You've hurt your son. Go" she told Lucius, pushing him towards the door. She looked back at Hermione apologetically before she exited the library with Lucius in tow, the two of them started shouting as soon as they entered the hall. Hermione stared at the door for a moment before seeing Draco's limp body move. She rushed over to him.

"Draco…Draco…Wake up! Oh gods" she whispered, slapping his face gently.

He moved, grabbing her arm, "We…go…before…come back…" he managed to get out. She apparated with him to her apartment immediately, appearing on her bed. Scrambling off of the bed, she ran to the bathroom where she grabbed multiple towels, a bowl of hot water and her bruising cream. She rushed back to the bedroom, nearly spilling all of the water on her floor. Flipping him over, she removed his sports coat and shirt gently. She took one of the towels, wetting it and wiping his blood streaked face. The tears were still coming down on her face, her stomach in knots, scared for him. He winced as she wiped the blood from his brow, some of it matted in his silky blonde hair. She splashed some water on the mat of hair, pushing it away from his face, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He tried sitting up, wincing in pain and laying back down.

"Stop moving!" she insisted.

"My arm, I think it's broken" he whispered to her. She fumbled in her shirt for her wand, pulling it out, hardly able to hang on to it with her trembling hand. He reached up with his good hand, steadying her. She whispered the charm.

"AH!" he said as it clicked back into place.

"I'm sorry! What about your leg?" she asked.

"I don't know. It hurts like hell though" he told her hoarsely. She undid his pants carefully, taking them off and revealing the massive bruise on the side of his left knee. She barely ran her fingertips on it when he screamed. "That bad?" she asked. He nodded, his face wincing in pain, "It's not the worst I've had, but it's definitely shattered" he told her. He was trying to block out the pain in his back, knowing it was just a bad bruise, he'd had them before.

"He's done this before?" she asked, taking out her wand again.

Draco looked down, ashamed, "A few times" he whispered. "Ah!" he said as she fixed his leg. She looked up at him sadly, "I'm sorry" she said quietly.

He was able to sit up then, slowly, pulling her closer to him. She swallowed as she looked up into his hurt eyes. Draco stared back at her, remembering how his father had turned on her to strike her, and knowing he would have if his mother hadn't been there. The thought scared the hell out of him.

"We can't do this" he said quietly, his eyes welling up.

She looked down, entwining her hand with his, "I know" she whispered.

"I won't let him have the chance to hurt you. I'd never be able to live with myself. You deserve better" he told her, reaching up to her face, wiping a tear from her cheek.

She looked up into his tear-filled grey eyes, "No. I deserve _you. _I just can't have you" she said hoarsely. He searched her face, "There's no other way. I won't let anything happen to you because of my name" he told her.

"Draco…I…" she started to say, unable to find the words she was looking for. A tear fell down his cheek, she reached up, wiping it away softly with her thumb. He grabbed her face, kissing her with everything he had, desperately wishing for the moment to never end. She kissed him back with as much desperation as he, savoring it.

"I don't want this feeling to end, Draco" she whispered.

"Neither do I, but we don't have a choice. We're too wrong for each other" he told her.

"Because of our blood? It shouldn't matter! It doesn't matter to you!" she said desperately.

"No it doesn't matter to me. Hermione, I…I…I love you. But, I won't watch you get hurt by my family, I can't stand by and watch it happen. And if we stay together, it will happen! If my father is out of Azkaban, there will be nothing to stop him from hunting you down and hurting you" he explained frantically.

Her mouth quivered, "Why can't it just be simple?" she whispered.

A smile creeped on the corner of his lips, "If it were, it wouldn't be right" he whispered. She reached up to his face, kissing him again. Draco pulled her closer to him, encircling his arms around her waist.

Grabbing the back of her head, he deepened the kiss, laying her back on the bed. In one move of his wrist, he'd taken her pants off, the two of them desperate to be closer to the other. The tears rolling down their faces collided as they kissed. She desperately tugged at his boxers, taking them off of him as he threw her lace panties across the room with her shirt. His damp hair fell over her cheeks as he pushed into her, their bodies colliding. She took a sharp in take of breath as he did so, arching her back into him, her legs spreading wider. He moved slowly this time, wanting to preserve every minute of their time together. She dug her nails into his back as he rocked in and out of her. He winced as she dug into the bruise in his back, burying his head in her neck. She moaned beneath him, arching into him. He looked back at her tear-stained face, wanting to remember every detail of it, every fleck of gold him her brown eyes, how many freckles she had on her nose…everything. He knew he would never love like this again. A tear dropped from his face to hers. She kissed him desperately as their bodies continued to rock passionately together.

She could feel herself on edge as she kissed him, tears rolling down her face, she didn't want the moment to end. He continued to push in and out of her as they both started trembling. He breathed quickly against her lips as she moaned. She let out a scream, finding herself on edge, releasing. He paused as he pushed in her for the last time, his body trembling, releasing itself. Hermione found herself staring at the ceiling again, unable to face what she knew was coming next. Draco didn't want to move, he wanted to lay in her arms forever, they fit so perfectly together, their bodies so in sync. She swallowed hard, her hand now stroking his silky hair as he laid on her chest. He sat up, pulling her with him, staring in her eyes. She shook her head, not wanting to hear what he was about to say.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, wiping away a stray tear, "I have to go" he whispered, standing up, putting his boxers on.

"No, you don't" she whispered, watching him dress.

He sighed, "Hermione, what then? You want me to just sit back and watch my father hurt you? Torture you? Is that what you want? Because he will! We can't do this, we can't be together!" he told her, trying hard to make her hate him again, even though deep down he didn't want her to.

She stood as he put on his bloodstained tshirt, turning around to face her. "I know what will happen. I just…I just don't want to loose you" she told him.

He hugged her, kissing her forehead, "That's why we can't be together" he whispered, letting go of her and walking towards the door. She followed behind him, her body trembling, a lump in her throat.

He stopped in front of the door, turning to face her, his cheeks stained with tears. Reaching to her, he wiped a fresh tear that'd just fallen from the corner of her eye. "I don't want to do this" he whispered.

"But we have to" she told him.

"Hermione, I…the past two days…they happened…they were real…I'll never find anyone else that makes me feel like you do" he whispered to her, holding her hands in his.

"Yes you will. You're going to find someone better, a girl who your father loves and adores, a girl that can cook" she said, her face breaking into a small smile.

He snorted, "Anyone's cooking is better than yours" he said, his eyes smiling at her.

She smiled, shaking her head, "I love you, Draco" she said quietly, another tear falling down her face. At the sound of these words, Draco's eyes flooded, he kissed her desperately. His chest felt heavy, hurting as he pulled away from her. His lips trembled, "And I love you" he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. He kissed her desperately again, pulling away just as sudden, opening the door and closing it behind him as he apparated to his home. Hermione stared at the door as he left her. She couldn't breathe. He was gone.

/****~~~-

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! They're REALLY appreciated! Hope you guys are enoying…only one more chapter left :-(


	6. The Love We Had We Had To Let It Go

Do you really want me dead, or alive to live a lie...

* * *

><p>Hermione walked into the ministry the next morning with the worst feeling she'd ever felt in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't really felt like getting ready that morning, but she did it anyway, trying to make it seem like she was ok. She'd merely washed her hair, put little product in it and thrown on a dab of lipgloss and mascara. Her outfit reflected her dreary outlook once again, a black curve-hugging sweater dress, sheer black hose, and black stilettos. She walked past the fountain, her sunglasses still covering her eyes, grabbing a copy of the daily prophet and tucking it under her arm.<p>

"Miss Granger, morning" Kingsley said as he passed her by the fountain. She took off her glasses immediately "Morning" she told him, nodding. Standing at the lift, she felt eyes on her, her stomach in knots as she knew who was staring before she even looked to her right.

Draco didn't want to go into work that morning, still feeling as if he'd been run over by the Knight Bus. He passed the fountain, completely forgetting to get his newspaper as he heard Hermione's voice. Looking up, he saw her speaking to the Minister. He wanted to run after her, take her in his arms, but he knew he mustn't. Her outfit was the darkest he'd ever seen her, she looked as if she was in mourning. He stood at the next lift, staring at her, wondering if she could feel him. As her eyes turned to meet his, his stomach knotted up. They stared at each other until being forced into the lifts, taking them down to their respective floors. Draco stepped out into his hallway, looking down at the floor, unaware of anything around him. He opened the door to his office, sitting down at his desk, throwing his head in his hands. Almost as soon as he sat, there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah. Come in" he said through his hands. He rubbed his face as the door opened.

"Mate, what the bloody hell? You let Mallory off today? You have one of the biggest meetings of you life this morning!" Blaise said as he walked in the door.

"Blaise, it's ok, I've got it handled. Doris is coming at ten. I've got everything right here" Draco told him lazily.

"You better have everything. What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Draco shook his head, taking a deep breath, "It's nothing, mate" he said.

"Draco, you look like you were ran over by a double-decker. What's going on?" Blaise asked again.

"I told you, it's nothing. Just something I'm trying to work out" Draco told him.

"I heard your father's out of Azkaban" Blaise said.

Draco snorted, the day before's events coming back to his mind, "Yeah. Yeah, he is" he said.

"Your mother must be happy" Blaise said.

"I wouldn't know. Haven't actually talked to them" he said.

"Really? I thought you would be happy about having the old man home" Blaise said.

"I would be, if he wasn't such an ass" Draco said, gritting his teeth.

"Finally realized that, have you?" Blaise said smirking at him.

Draco threw a balled up piece of paper at him as he sat back in his chair. Blaise continued to smirk at him, blocking the piece of paper Draco had thrown.

"So what'd he do?" Blaise asked.

Draco shook his head, "I don't really want to re-live it, mate. Trying to pretend it was a bad dream" he told him.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with Granger, would it?" Blaise asked, an eyebrow raised.

Draco stared at him, his eyes wide, "What do you know about-" he started to ask.

"Word gets around, mate. It's only just a rumor" Blaise told him.

"And what's the rumor" Draco asked.

"That you two are seeing each other now" he told him.

"We aren't" Draco said, taking a deep breath.

"I worked that much out, mate. What'd you father do?" Blaise asked.

"He tried to hit her" Draco said quietly.

"You took her…a muggle-born…to Malfoy Manor…What the fuck were you thinking?" Blaise asked incredulously.

"Mother already knew about us. She said she was going to be visiting father all day. I never thought he would be released, especially on the weekend. That's the only reason why I took her. I'm not that stupid" Draco said defending himself.

"He was going to hit her?" Blaise asked again.

"Yeah" Draco whispered. Blaise shook his head, sitting back in his chair, "Who else knows?" he asked.

"No one. Potter and Weasley" Draco said, unable to look anywhere but the carpet.

"Ah, hell, Weasley knows? I'd like to beat the living shit out of him one day" Blaise said.

Draco snorted, "We should have done it at Hogwarts, mate" he told him.

"Yeah. You're right. So what are you going to do about it?" Blaise asked.

"Nothing. I can't put her through what my father's capable of" Draco told him, shaking his head.

"So you ended it?" Blaise said.

"Last night" Draco told him, swallowing the lump in his throat as he thought about it.

Blaise looked at his best friend, pained by his broken heart, "I'm sorry, mate. I don't like her, but I hate to see you like this" he told him.

"It's alright, mate, we all go through it, right?" Draco said, standing up from his desk.

"Right" Blaise said quietly. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in" Draco said. A tall, handsome, dark haired man stuck his head through he door.

"Ah, Mr. Doris. You're early" Draco said stepping in front of his desk. Mr. Doris came in the room, shutting he door behind him, "Well, I thought it'd be better to show early than late" he told them.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. This is my partner, Blaise Zabini, Blaise, this is Mr. Doris. I think the two of you have spoken over owl a few times" Draco said, introducing them.

"Indeed we have, Draco" Blaise said, shaking the man's hand.

"Yes, Yes, now, let's get down to business" Mr. Doris told them. Draco pointed his wand to the chair in the far corner of his office, bringing it in front of his desk. Mr. Doris sat down, leaning forward as Blaise and Draco also sat. The meeting went by smoothly, with Blaise answering most of the questions Mr. Doris had. Draco listened, giving Mr. Doris any insight he had on the piece of land up for purchase, trying to persuade him to buy. Towards the end of the meeting, Draco found himself staring at the floor, completely spaced out as Blaise talked about the warehouse. Memories of the past week replayed in Draco's mind, starting with their fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday, how she warmed up to him on Thursday, and then how on Friday they came together, realizing their feelings for one another. Draco's chest became heavy as he lost himself in the memory of the two of them.

"Draco…Draco…Hey, you still with us, mate?" Blaise said, snapping his fingers in front of Draco's face.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night" Draco said.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Malfoy. I was just telling Zabini here to draw up the papers and send them to my assistant in the morning. I'll take it" Mr. Doris said.

"Excellent, Mr. Doris!" Draco said happily.

"Ah, I like the location of this place, I feel like I can do many things with it" he explained.

"Very good. Very good" Draco said, standing with Mr. Doris.

"Yes. Well, I will be going, I need to tell my wife of my newest deal. It's a pleasure doing business with both of you" Mr. Doris said, shaking their hands.

"Pleasure doing business with you also, sir" Draco said smiling. Blaise shook Doris's hand, showing him to the door. "We'll be in touch, Mr. Doris" Blaise said, ushering him out. As Blaise closed the door, Draco leaned against his desk, taking a deep breath as he put his head in his hand, looking at the floor.

"Get out of here, mate, I can take care of things the rest of the day" Blaise said, looking at Draco's slumping figure.

"No, no I need the work. Anything to get my mind off of her" Draco explained.

"Draco, go. Go home, go to sleep. Come back in the morning with a clear head. You know you can't do anything when you're tired" Blaise told him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Thanks, mate" Draco said, gathering the papers into his bag and throwing it on his shoulder.

"See you tomorrow. Draco…clear head" Blaise said as Draco opened the door.

"Right. See you" Draco said, heading out of the office. He walked down the hall slowly, making up his mind whether to go see her or not. He didn't know if he could, if it would be smart. He stepped onto the lift, still in deep thought. Without realizing it, he found himself walking down her hall, staring at the floor. Her door was cracked when he reached it. Noises coming from inside the room, it sounded like she was beating the walls. He pushed on the door a little, looking inside. She was scrambling around the small room, attempting to clean. She had books stacked in the far corner, papers strung out all on the desk and floor. Her bookshelf on the back did not have any of the figurines on it it had had two days before. She was sitting on the floor, tossing things to the other side of the room. Draco snuck inside quietly, shutting the door behind him. She threw a medium-sized book across the room with force, towards Draco's head, he blocked it, knocking it to the floor.

Hermione jumped at the sound of the book hitting something dull. She turned around quickly finding Draco standing in front of her desk, his arms still blocking his face from the things she was throwing. She stared as he lowered his arms slowly, his grey eyes staring back at her. She felt her stomach drop as they looked at eachother. Scrambling up off of the floor, she found herself flying into his arms, her lips locking with his. She threw her arms around his neck, jumping in his arms. She knew she didn't need to be kissing him, but she couldn't help it. It was like an animal instinct, one that she couldn't avoid. He kissed her, pushing her back against the desk, his chest rising and falling with hers. The passion between them rose as they kissed. She entwined her fingers in his hair, arching her back, pushing her chest into him as his hands pushed her hips closer to his.

Draco pulled back, his breath heavy from the moment. He reached up to her face, entwining a curl around his finger.

"We can't do this" he whispered. She sat on the desk, silent, her breathing steadied.

"Then why did you come?" she asked him, now upset at his sudden appearance.

"I didn't want to leave things like they were" he told her.

"Draco…I…I woke up this morning…with the most empty feeling I've ever had. It was like I'd lost a part of myself. I don't know if I can be without you…No one is ever going to make me feel this way again" she told him, her voice hoarse.

"Don't say that" he told her.

"But it's true!" she begged.

He cupped her face in his hands, "No. It's not. You are going to erase me from your memory, you're going to go back to Weasley, and you're going to marry him, and have 10 more Weasley children just like his parents. It's how it's supposed to be" he told her.

"No…no, Draco" she said shaking her head. He searched her face, kissing her hard once more.

"Yes. It's how it has to be, Hermione. You know this" he told her as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Yes" she whispered against his chest. She pulled back from him, staring into his grey, pain-stricken eyes.

He clenched his jaw, swallowing hard as he leaned his forehead against hers, "One day. One day we will be together. In this life or the next. 5 years from now or 20 years from now, I will find a way" he told her, kissing her hard as he held her hands tightly.

"I love you, Draco" she whispered.

"I will always love you, Hermione. But we have to let it go, for now at least" he told her.

She nodded her head, staring at him again. He slowly backed away from her, "We have to let it go" he repeated again, telling himself more than her. Slowly, he released the palm of her hand, down to her fingertips as he reached for the door handle, turning it.

She stood, "We have to let it go" she whispered as he opened the door.

"One day" he whispered, stepping out of the door. He took one last glance at her brown eyes before closing the door behind him, walking down the hall and out of her life.

The years passed. Hermione married Ron, as Draco had told her she would. She loved her family, her life, everything around her. She was happy. But at night, when she would lay down beside Ron in their small bed, him snuggling against her, she always found herself thinking about him. The void that had been filled when he was around, was now empty, a vast black hole in her chest. She didn't sleep much, always going out on to the terrace to clear her head in the night air. She'd only seen him at the ministry three times in the past 11 years, finding herself staring at him each time. He had married a girl she didn't know, she hadn't went to Hogwarts, Hermione assumed she was a friend of the family's. Hermione had had two children, their eldest, Rose, was off to Hogwarts the next morning.

"You have everything you need in your trunk? Are you sure? If you're anything like your father, you'll forget half of it!" Hermione said to her daughter the next morning.

"Yes, mother, I'm sure of it" Rose told her.

"Good. Ron! Are you ready! Come on!" Hermione yelled up the stairs. Ron and their son came running down the stairs, they seemed to be playing a game of 'tag.'

"Yeah, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist! We're coming!" Ron said, laughing. He hoisted their son on his shoulders as they walked outside to their muggle car, Hermione was driving.

They arrived, running between the Platforms and landing in front of the Hogwarts Express. Hermione sighed, smiling at the familiar train, and the memories she'd made at the castle. She and Rose walked ahead of Ron, eager to find Harry and Ginny. Hermione continuously looked around, smiling and laughing at the families on the platform. Then she saw him, her heart beating loudly in her chest. She stared at him, he hadn't seen her yet though. His face now growing the slightest hint of facial hair, his once silky blonde hair, now slicked back as it was when she first met him. He was still just as handsome as she remembered the last time they kissed. She closed her eyes as the memory of their last day came flooding back to her, goosebumps rose on her arms. When she finally opened her eyes, she found his grey eyes staring back at her, the two of them standing yards apart, but facing. In their minds, they were the only two people on the platform. He licked his lips, clenching his jaw as he stared at her, every movement of their entwining bodies flooding his memory.

Rose tugged at Hermione's jacket, snapping her back to reality, "Yes, sweetheart, what is it?" she answered impatiently, continuing to glance up at Draco.

"Who's that, mum?" Rose asked.

Hermione thought a minute, "He's an old friend, darling. Have you found James or Albus yet?" she asked her.

"No, I haven- There they are!" Rose said excitedly. Hermione looked back up at Draco, who had turned to his own son. He kept glancing at her just as she glanced at him. As they continued to stare, Hermione looked back at her family who were greeting each other, preoccupied then turned to Draco quickly, mouthing the words "One day" to him.

His eyes smiled at her, then nodded before turning back to his family. 'One day,' he thought. One day.

* * *

><p>AN::: :-( ...i know... but, i felt like it had to end that way...i based this story very loosely on 30 Seconds To Mars's song 'Hurricane'...everyone should listen to it and watch the video, it's absolutely brilliant...seriously...anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed reading! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!


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